


Bleed Cherry Blossoms

by RubyRogue



Category: Naruto, Trinity Blood
Genre: F/M, au-ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-15 04:57:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 56,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyRogue/pseuds/RubyRogue
Summary: Sakura's whole world was nothing more than an illusion set by evil she can't comprehend. But light comes from the oddest places and people.Silver crashes with pink, blue and green combine, blood is spilled in love and hate.And if they can survive, they both might find the answers they need.





	1. Settlement A: Infiltrated. Status: Failed.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! This is a rewrite and rework of an old FFN story I did a while back. I'm thrilled to be working it back over and bringing it to Ao3! As always, reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated!

_**Chapter One: Settlement A: Infiltrated. Status: Failed** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood** _

"Shizune!" Sakura screamed, watching her torso fly from her body, blood painting the ground with sickly gore. Her shocked, glassy-wide eyes stared blankly at her, her mouth opened in a silent scream.

Still warm crimson splashed against her, her scream replacing the empty void left by Shizune's wordless cry. She reached for the corpse's hand, trying to catch the body before it could strike the ground. For one horrible instant, she thought she felt her mentor's fingers tighten on her own. But it was only the sporadic twitch of dying nerves. In her horror, she pulled away, letting the chest and head of her friend slide across the ground in a slick of red. Rage took her, rode her, engulfed her… a red veil dropped across her eyes and her heart throbbed harder in her chest, the pulse palpable in her slender throat.

She screamed; her rage finding substance as her fist collided with the nearest creature. The wraith shrieked, its chest caving in beneath her hands. Her free hand came up, wrenching it even further over her fist by its jacket. Blood, bone, and flesh exploded over her, its body flying apart.

"Die!" Sakura screamed, wrenching the neck of the next closest. Bone snapped easily beneath her palm and she let the limp body drop at her feet. With a howl, she kicked the corpse's stomach in, venting her wrath and her sorrow.

Dropping to her knees, she screamed out again. She didn't even know why…it just felt right to add her voice to that of the dead, dying, and fighting outside, to cry for the dead and to mingle her blood with the fallen.

"Enough of this foolishness, child."

Her head snapped towards the lethal hiss, watching as an eloquently dressed man drifted from the shadows, tossing his ebony hair from his shoulders fluidly. His suit, navy blue and tailored, was stained with blooms of crimson. His hands were gloved in white and dripping gore.

"I will make your death easy," He stated, bringing his hand to his mouth and wrapping his tongue around the slender digit and lapping up the crimson fluid.

Sakura ran, turning her head from the monster and running through the flames and blood and smoke of her village. She ran, tearing past the corpses and the feeding monsters. She ran with her eyes closed against the images of her friends and family bodies, floating in pools of scarlet. She ran with the voices of her friends and family echoing in her head:  _Coward, coward, coward!_

'It's over…it's all over.' She thought, hot tears running down her pallid cheeks as she fled into the wilderness.

She fled, oblivious to the branches tearing at her face and bare arms. She ignored the snap of twigs on her cheeks and the thorns that bled her mercilessly. She tore through the underbrush, feeling the monster's hot breath on her neck and his hands groping for her. Sakura tripped, a root catching her foot and flinging her against a nearby tree. She drove her nails into the bark, throwing herself against it and burying her face in her arms.

"It's alright. It's all over now."

Hot breath fell against her neck, clawed hands taking her arms and pinning her. The resulting blow on the back of her neck was far too gentle to be fatal, she realized dimly as his hand pulled back and the darkness took her, could they show her no mercy…could they not simply kill her?

* * *

She came to in the ruin of a building she didn't let herself think about hard enough to identify. There was no fire, no smoke or screaming. Only the pale moonlight filtering through a shattered roof. She tried to move. Her arms and legs were lead. Her eyes refused to focus no matter how desperately she tried to make them. 

"It would seem you've finally come to."

A slender hand ran up her chest, long fingers tracing her jaw line and passing lightly over her lips; and then pulled back to impart a vicious blow against her cheek, a thin tendril of blood running from the resultant wound. His white glove gathered the blood, his lengthy fingers coming to his mouth, his red tongue lapping up the liquid. He purred with the first drop that coated his tongue. 

"Such a delicacy. You'll make an exquisite meal." 

She was going to die. The thought lodged itself firmly in her mind; but she was beyond terror, beyond fighting, beyond caring that her own pitiful life was about to end. She didn't want justice for herself. Another might come along and bring that...a stronger shinobi or a stronger nation. She wanted answers. To die without wondering. 

"Why?" She asked, her tears finally coming.

"Because we could." 

The answer drove the breath from her lungs. 

"Monster," She wanted to scream it at him, but it was barely a whisper. Weak. Without conviction. 

"But it will matter little, Terran, to you here very shortly," He replied.

He turned away, flicking his wrist off-handedly with the command, "Hold her."

Viciously clawed hands pinned her legs and her arms. She tried to draw her limbs back in but it was no used and a moment later, her neck was exposed by a vicious tug on her hair. Their hands were on her breasts. The fabric gave way all to easily. She wanted to fight. She did. It was all her life had ever prepared her for: the fight. But there was nothing left to give. Her chakra was long since depleted, her muscles used past their ability to rally...she could feel the burn of adrenaline in her veins flood its way uselessly down her body. It was a fire without fuel. And she was going to die. 

"Take her."

Glowing red eyes fell hungrily on her pulsing wrists, on the throbbing artery in her thighs and the throb in her bare neck. She felt their fangs on her skin, the delicate pinpricks of the modified canines and their hot tongues on her bare flesh.

"No!" She screamed, throwing back her head.

"I suggest you step away from the girl."

Time froze. The monsters looked away and the hunger in their eyes changed to rage. She looked up without meaning to. Silver hair, cerulean eyes. Her mind skipped. Her thoughts slipped away like water between her fingers. 

"A priest from the Vatican?" The amused vampire asked, his fangs glistening faintly in the moonlight.

"Under the authority of the Vatican I hereby place you under arrest for murder in the first degree in innumerable counts."

"Kill him," The vampire responded with a wave of his hand.

They withdrew from her in a blur of motion, their red eyes leaving vaporous trails like their bodies behind them. The man stepped right, letting a vampire fly by him and firing off a round. A second came at his back but he was too fast, firing off another one. The third came from his right; he spun again, bringing his gun into the back of its head and firing. He knew he had miscalculated before he had the time to turn back around. He should have eliminated their foul Count first. 

"Take one more step, _Father_ , and the girl dies," He stated, his nails elongating and sliding against the skin of her neck. She gave a choked cry, her pulse thrumming against the razor sharp talons.

"Let her go," He demanded, leveling his weapon at him.

"Stay where you are." He hissed thinly.

He looked at his feet in a caricature of defeat, finding exactly what he was looking for: a particularly sharp rock. In a single movement, he snapped his foot up, driving the shard towards the vampire's exposed face. Instinctively, the vampire's hands shot up to guard his face. He leveled his gun and fired. A projectile buffeted the air beside her, showering her in gore the next fraction of a second as the vampire's corpse flew back. Sakura's ears rang horribly, her head pounding in protest. She tried to scramble up, every instinct telling her to run even when her body had already given up. A hand on her shoulder startled her back into the moment. 

"You're alright," He told her, draping his long jacket around her, "You're alright." 

"Who are you?" 

It was a stupid question. But friend or foe mattered little. It made no difference if he intended to kill her or help her. It was all gone anyway. 

"Someone who has come to save the lives of humans." 

 

_**TBC** _


	2. The Vatican's Edge

_**Chapter Two: The Edge of the Vatican** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood!** _

Sakura clung to him, her fingers digging into the thick fabric of his shirt. Her tears ran freely down her pale face.

"There, there, you're safe now." He said, gently wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

She let him lead her through the building. Behind them, the fires engulfing Konoha bled the sky orange and red. The flickering lights cast an eerie glow across the faces of the Kages. She turned away. They would watch Konoha burn. If she tried, she knew her sanity would finally shatter. So she turned away. A medic was no good to the dead. 

* * *

"Here." He stated, holding out a piece of bread and a bowl of stew.

She accepted them silently, balancing the food on her lap uncomfortably. She wanted to eat, or at the very least knew she should. Her stomach twisted. She saw Shizune again, saw her spine snap and the life leave her eyes. She heard a little girl's cry cut short. Somewhere in the chaos she thought she heard Naruto. She couldn't be sure. The images looped back again. If she had been faster, if she had been smarter...if she had been stronger. The little girl's face flickered in her mind. She heard the scream. Her throat closed to the ashy smoke that threatened to choke her. 

"You still haven't told me your name." She blurted, suddenly derailing her own thoughts. 

"Abel Nightroad, traveling priest for the Vatican."

"Vatican?" She asked lamely.

"There'll be time for discussion later. What shall I call you?"

"Haruno Sakura, shinobi registration number 6483921B, rank of chunin."

"Haruno?"

"No...Sakura...it's hard to explain. It's my clan...not _my_ name..." 

 "You should eat," He told her. 

She nodded numbly, spooning the thick liquid mechanically into her mouth. She didn't taste it. She didn't smell it. She hunched herself over the bowl, bit her lip hard to stop the tears, and forced herself to take another bite. He looked on as she returned to the meager meal, her shoulders shuddering. For the most part, he averted his eyes; it was unlikely she wanted his sympathy and even less likely she wanted comfort in her acute grief. Very few would accept comfort in a moment so intimately lonely. He knew he hadn't when he had thrown himself across Lilith's glass tomb and begged for her to come back to him. 

He saw her shiver from the corner of his eye, inadequately protected from the late winter chill in the tattered garment she had managed to salvage from the torn cloth of her previous ensemble. He frowned, pulling off his own jacket and laying it across her shoulders.

She glanced up, startled by the sudden motion.

"I've never caught a cold wearing that," He smiled, attempting lamely to cheer her up.

She tried to smile, but for some reason dissolved into tears. It reminded her so much of the times Naruto had given her his jacket or Sasuke had laid his spare shirt over her.

"I'm sorry," She sobbed.

He sighed to himself in his own helplessness; there was nothing he could say to comfort her. She had lost everything in a single, fell blow that she might never recover from. He knew that physical wounds healed, some flawlessly, but emotional and psychological injuries rarely closed and _always_ left ugly scars.

And then in occurred to him that, yes, there was nothing _he_ could say…but there was someone who could. He knelt down beside her, taking her hands in his.

"Please, allow me to pray for you," He said.

"Pray…" She trailed of in shock at the perceptiveness of the gesture; naturally, she was familiar with prayer-they had many gods and goddesses and many looked over exclusively the men and women of combat…people like her who might not see another sunrise or set. But those prayers were said with ritual and reverence and formality. She never stopped to think to a god or goddess. It seemed rude. 

"Yes," He replied with a warm smile.

She didn't have the strength to say no. 

"Our Father who art in Heaven, praise be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done here on Earth as in Heaven. Lord, I pray you would send comfort for this young woman. She is lost, Lord, and needs Your guidance. Allow her to forgive herself and to forgive those who have so grievously trespassed against her as You forgive those who trespass against You. In the name of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen."

"I've never heard it put that way," She whispered.

"You haven't?" He asked.

But he thought better than to speak of religion at the moment; she had grown in a society and culture radically different from that of his own. There would be time for her to learn their ways, if she so chose, and to assimilate their teachings. 

"I'm sorry…I'm so tired…" She mumbled vaguely.

He let her sleep. 

* * *

He wondered away only briefly to find more logs and to make his reports back to Kate, aboard the _Iron Maiden_ , now on route to rendezvous with them. And he always kept her in his sights, able to pin his eyes to her in an instant.

With a faint sigh, he flicked the radio receiver to 'on'. Naturally, Kate responded immediately.

"Status?"

"With respect to the mission, not well."

"What's wrong?" Kate asked, her voice softening.

"We were too late, Kate…there was only one survivor," He sighed.

"The odds were never good, Father," Kate replied.

"That maybe true, but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if we'd been a few hours earlier."

"We can't dwell in the past, Father," Kate replied. "We did what we could with poor intel and less than ideal circumstances." 

He sighed; she was right, no matter how much he wanted to refute the claim.

"Would you patch me through to Caterina?" He finally asked.

"Certainly."

Her voice was replaced with a static hiss and a moment later, Caterina's voice filled the earpiece.

"Abel? What seems so urgent?" She asked.

"I'm reporting on the mission. I've found one survivor. No others," He replied.

"Unfortunate," She sighed in the same monotone that she frequently used when it was necessary to suppress her emotion for the sake of their mission…for the sake of possible peace between the races. "Return immediately to the Vatican with her. She can decide her own fate at a later time."

"Sister Kate is already en route," He assured her.

"Good," Caterina replied as she fell off the link.

Abel sighed privately as he pulled the earpiece off and slipped it back into his shirt.

His eyes flickered to her and he wondered how she had survived. She seemed so small and fragile, but knew the opposite must be true if she had lasted so long in the carnage.

God worked in mysterious ways.

* * *

It was the thunderous roar of the airship that woke her; instinctively, she scrambled to her feet, chakra coursing into her fist as she eyes the behemoth. It was almost as massive as the floating city, last lineage of the Cloud nin.

"It's alright," Abel assured her, his hand coming across her shoulder.

"What is it?" She demanded.

"Um…well, it would be your equivalent to a commanding unit in an attack. That is our battle ship, _Iron Maiden,_ " He replied uncertainly.

Sakura stumbled back, bumping into him as it descended and a platform was lowered.

"I promise you're safe with me," He told her, stooping slightly to her meet her emerald green eyes.

She didn't know why, but she trusted him…she had trusted him from the moment his eyes had met her own…trusted him from the second he ordered the vampires away from her…from the moment his gun had been leveled in her defense. Iruka had told them, when they were small and young and frail, that when logic failed them, that instinct might save them. And the order of her world was entirely eradicated. If she stayed, she would wither away with it. 

She nodded, letting him help her onto the platform.

As it pulled up from the ground, she saw Konoha-but it wasn't a prospering village anymore…it was a dead, hollow husk, burned from the inside out. She knew, also, that the other nations hadn't survived…because she had heard their screams over the radio that had been in her ear. It was shortly before she saw Shizune die that she ripped it off, unable to take the vicarious torture.

"Good-bye," She whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Abel's hand came across her shoulder, squeezing slightly as he said a silent prayer for their souls.

And with that, they ascended into the belly of the ship. The thin light of light died away as the airlocks activated and Sakura stepped off.

"Father Nighroad," The acknowledgement accompanied the appearance of an attractive strawberry blonde from thin air…and who was about as solid as thin air itself.

Sakura's training kicked in instantly, her hands flying up in a release seal. But nothing happened. She didn't feel the familiar surge of chakra breaking an illusion, the sudden weight of reality settling back across her. 

"It's alright," Abel told her, moving between them, "I probably should have mentioned that Kate is a hologram…a picture made of light and color." His hands came up in a gesture of placation, his smile sheepish.

"A…hologram…" Sakura's mind refused to accept the information. 

"Father Nightroad, what are our current plans for her?" Kate asked.

Sakura hissed to herself privately; she wasn't a child and if _Sister_ Kate had a question _about_ her, it should have been directed _at_ her.

The kunoichi wanted to remind her she was a warrior. When she looked down at herself, though, her petite frame swimming in an oversized jacket, she didn't feel like a warrior. She felt lost. Abel changed the subject, whether for her sake or his, she couldn't say. The day spun away from her before she knew what was happening. And then it was night again. She found her way out to a balcony entirely by accident and, too tired to work her way back, sat down. The stars above her seemed to mock her. 

"You shouldn't be alone." 

"But I am alone," She told him. 

"You have me. I promise you that," Abel told her as he sat beside her. 

"What are you going to do with me?" She asked. 

"We'll help you integrate into our civilian society. You'll be well cared for by the church." 

"Please, no..."

The idea that all her training, all the blood and pain and death and tears, would amount to a civilian life, was worse than death. What good were her skills, and the bodies she had built them on, if she couldn't use them? Abel wrapped his fingers around hers, breaking her bloody reverie.

"What were you before?" Abel asked. 

"A warrior." 

"You can walk away from that. If you want." 

"I _can't_. I need to know _why_ it happened."  

"That's a lonely road to walk. You can turn away now. 

"There is no other road for me."

Late that night, long after she had fallen asleep, Abel patched himself through to Caterina. She was irritated, not by him, he gleaned, but by the general lack of sleep and time to think.

"What do you need, Father Nightroad?"

"I have a petition I need you to hear," He told her.

"About?"

"I don't believe civilian life will suit our survivor well. I believe if we push her into it, we'll be killing her. Slowly, perhaps, but still."

"Abel, you can't take home every stray..."

He smiled at the affection in Caterina's voice.

"I'll vouch for her, and be responsible for her training."

"Abel, how do you know this girl can be trusted? We haven't even formally assessed her for compatibility with the AX."

"You know I take things on faith, Caterina. All things. Small things, and big."

"And you have never led me astray," The woman allowed. "Very well, but I expect that the consequences of any failure will be yours, too."

"Thank you, Caterina."

"Try to get some sleep, Abel," She smiled.

* * *

 "Father Nightroad..." 

"I know, Kate. I know," He allowed. "But please, give her a chance." 

"Your last orphan turned out just fine. It's not her I'm worried about." 

Abel shrugged, "In the end, they all leave. I suspect one day that even you will." 

Kate ached to reach out and touch him. She ached with the memory of what it was to touch someone. 

"You know we'll expect a great deal of her."

"I wouldn't expect less." 

"Will you wake her? The crew will be finishing breakfast soon, and both of you need to eat." 

Abel smiled. He could count on Kate to remind him to eat when he had forgotten, to sleep when he was restless, to drink before his nanomachines decided to act. He walked down the corridor. Sakura's room was a pitiful metal hollow with a single cot. And she wasn't there. 

"Sakura?" 

His voice echoed. He pulled back the covers uselessly. Bending, he went to kneel. He was met with a whimper. 

"Sakura?" 

She was curled back underneath the bed, her back pressed to the wall. Her eyes were wide and wet. Abel flatted himself against the ground, making himself small. He extended a hand, maintaining a gap between his hand and hers. 

"Are you alright?"

She sobbed, just once. Abel held perfectly still, averting his gaze. Eventually, she reached for his hand and curled her fingers around his. 

"I woke up and thought...I thought I was still...there." 

"You're not. You're safe." 

"They aren't." 

"They can't be hurt again." 

She squeezed his hand hard. 

"When you wake up, think about five things you can see. Then find four things you can touch. What do you hear? Just tell me three things you can hear." 

She swallowed hard. There was the thrum of the engines that vibrated the metal around her. She could hear her heart beating in her chest. The echoing voices of crewmen down the hallways. 

"The engine, my heart beat, the crew." 

"What can you smell?" 

In that moment, she became aware of the floral scent of the soap that lingered on her hands from a late night washing. She could smell the sweat in her hair. 

"Soap...sweat." 

"What can you taste?" 

"The water on the nightstand." 

"Good. Take a breath. You're alright." 

Her heart had stopped pounding in her chest. She reached for his hand. He took it. Abel said nothing to her about her state as they walked. He chatted about how close they were to Rome and how pleasant the weather was. The mess hall would have been painfully silent if it weren't for his voice. She didn't necessarily hear his words, but the tempo of his words. He pressed a cup of coffee at her with one hand. His other hand was busy sprinkling parsley across an omelette. 

"I...you still haven't told me where you're...taking me." 

"I spoke to my higher up, and she's agreed that, with your consent, you'll remain with us. As a soldier." 

Sakura flung herself at him before she could stop herself. Her arms wrapped around his waist. She buried her face against his side, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, yet. We'll expect quite a bit of you." 

Tears sprang to her eyes. Tsunade had told her something similar once. She bit her lip until they disappeared, "I wouldn't expect anything less." 

He pulled open a screen on the wall beside him. There was an index of works. 

"These are the books you'll be expected to memorize." 

 Sakura sat herself beside the screen and opened a text. Eventually, his duties aboard  _Iron Maiden_ pulled him away. When he returned several hours later, she was still sitting in front of the screen. It wasn't even the ability itself he found as amazing as her ability to _perform_ it: She had just lost everything she had ever known and loved, and yet she was memorizing ancient texts and learning passages in a language she didn't even know had existed until earlier that day. Latin had phased her not at all. 

Then again, people did odd things when they were hurt so badly and so unexpectedly; he himself had mourned the death of his lover for more than nine hundred years before going briefly insane and then snapping back to himself. The river of denial flowed deep, and it seemed especially profound in her…in the way she shifted between inconsolable and completely fine. He worried but didn't know how to say he did. 

"Uh…Sakura?" He began hesitantly.

Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had just been brought back from something unpleasant. Her head turned slowly to him, her eyes still on the screens even if it was plain that she wasn't paying attention for the moment.

"Yes?"

"I…uh…never mind. I'm sorry to have interrupted you." He replied, deciding better than to say anything for the moment.

She nodded, looking rather…disappointed? He really couldn't tell…

"Master…"

Abel blanched visibly, but nodded for her to continue.

"I meant…would you be my new sensei…uh…teacher?"

She knew she was being selfish again, clinging to the first person whom resembled the loved ones she had lost…she knew she needed to…for her sanity's sake.

"If you would have me," He smiled back.

She smiled back, a tear running down her face; she couldn't help but feel she was betraying those she lost by moving so quickly to another. Iruka's voice came to her: Shinobi did what they had to do. She would do the same. 

'Shut up. This is necessary and you know it," She thought to herself. 

 Abel's deep blue eyes softened at that and she wondered if he knew what she was thinking. He turned away. 

* * *

She fell asleep sometime around midnight in front of the holographic screens and dreamed of Latin.

But only for a very short time. Her dreams changed without warning. 

_The fire cleared to reveal the bloodless face and white, dead eyes of Sasuke. He moaned something guttural as he grabbed her wrist and yanked her close, her back to his chest, his cold tongue running across the curve of her neck._

_"You left us."_

_She could just see him smirking in her mind, his tongue running along his lips in a sick rendition of Orochimaru._

_"No!" She screamed, writhing weakly._

_"Now you'll have to pay…in blood."_

_She felt his fangs prickle along her neck and she screamed._

Sakura bolted up, cold sweat dripping from her face and chest, the bitter cry still lodged in throat. Her breath came in ragged sobs more than gasps and she buried her head in her arms to stifle the sound.

For a moment, she panted to regain her breath. But after that, she rose and walked past the screens to the single window overlooking the nocturnal forest below them.

Something flickered vaguely below them and she stumbled back from the sudden flash of brilliant blue light, pulsing in electrical waves.

"Sasuke!" She cried, pressing herself flush against the glass.

Then she turned, her back to the panel and she took a deep breath-he was dead.

"I'm going crazy…" She said mildly, massaging her temple.

She screamed as a hand came across her arm.

Abel stumbled back, tripping over a piece of equipment as he did. Sakura cried out again in surprise, trying to catch his arm. But he outweighed her by at least two fold and simply dragged her down on top of him.

"I'm sorry!" She cried out.

"It's no problem," He assured her as he tried to rise. In the end, it resulted in her legs slipping along one either side of his lean frame.

"FATHER!"

Sakura yelped at the sudden appearance of a furious Kate, whose eyes were literally burning with lethal intent as she stared down Abel.

"Sister Kate! This isn't what it looks like!" He yelled back defensively.

"Of course it isn't, you bumbling idiot!" She shrieked back as Sakura scrambled up.

Her gaze shifted back to the window and her mind wandered, catching bits of Kate's lecture ("immature pervert", "she may not know better but you do", "idiot" and the like).

She wondered, just vaguely, if anyone else had managed to survive…there were others stronger than she was in the village and even on her own squad…maybe…

Sakura shook her head furiously, clearing the thoughts from her mind. 

* * *

Sakura knew they had reached Rome in the morning from the sheer look of relief on everyone's face; they had made it home…She never would again. 

Home…She bit back her tears fiercely. 

"Miss Sakura, perhaps you should clean up." Abel suggested gently from beside her.

"Agreed," Kate replied over the static that accompanied her usual surprise entrance.

Sakura nodded, allowing Kate to show her to the bathroom where someone had already laid out an outfit: a white, long sleeved top that fell to her mid-thigh and black pants with heels. She showered quickly, rinsing her hair more than washing it before she dressed. Sakura just left her limp pink hair down, deciding it wasn't worth it to tie back.

By the time she had returned, Kate was directing Abel to one of the lifts. She just motioned for Sakura to follow.

The kunoichi complied, standing next to Abel and gripping his sleeve for support as the lift jarred momentarily before leveling off and down.

It hit solid ground within a few seconds and Abel helped her over the rail, catching her as she tripped in the heels.

"Now, there's only one person you need to worry about: Lady Caterina," He told her as she dusted herself off.

She nodded; working with powerful women was her specialty. Abel flashed his badge as they passed security, assuring them she was his guest as he did. As they walked, he briefed her as best he could, stopping several dozen halls down in front of a massive set of double doors.

"Are you ready?" He asked. "You are absolutely sure this is what you want?"

Sakura nodded-a life of fighting was what she had been born and bred for. She didn't regret it or harbor any bitterness towards it, but a life of combat was all she could imagine.

He nodded, sadly almost, as he opened the doors.

"Ah, Abel," Caterina stated, her eyes flickering briefly to Sakura.

"Caterina," He smiled.

"I see you brought a guest."

He just kept on smiling.

Sakura, looking at them, immediately felt like she was intruding on something private. But just as quickly, their knowing gazes broke apart and reality seemed to catch up with them.

"Abel, I received your written brief last night," She began, her eyes on Sakura. "However, I think it would be prudent if I spoke to her alone."

Abel nodded, exiting the room without so much as a backwards glance.

Sakura watched him leave, swallowing hard as she turned to Caterina.

"It's my understanding that you were the only survivor."

Sakura replied, "To my knowledge."

Caterina clicked her tongue in sympathy, "And what do you want from us?"

"I want to fight back."

"That's not my organization's only intention."

"I never said combat was my only skill."

Caterina smiled in approval, her blue eyes glittering knowingly.

"And do you believe in God?"

Sakura hesitated. Did she? She had once believed in many gods and goddesses…but they seemed to die back in Konoha with everything else she knew. Did she believe? She wanted to; the idea was appealing to her-forgiveness for her wrongs, justification for her rights…salvation for her lost loved ones and the potential to one day be reunited with them.

"I don't know...I want to," She finally said.

Caterina ignored the momentary indecision and simply looked at her for what seemed like an eternity.

"You seem sincere," The Duchess Milan replied.

"I am," Sakura assured her.

"Then let me issue this last warning: we will push you hard."

Sakura smiled at the woman so like Tsunade, at the memory of her former mentor, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Then welcome to the AX."

* * *

Caterina sat in office shortly after Sakura's departure, sipping at her tea.

She had never promoted someone so quickly; but the girl seemed sincere and there was something in her eyes that Caterina instantly liked: an unwavering inner strength and tremendous potential. There was no hate for the incident that had brought her to them, only a desire for an explanation, if the Duchess had gauged her right.

Besides, a certain silver-haired priest needed a new partner since the promotion of his former, red-headed nun.

* * *

It wasn't until she was walking down the marble adorned hallways and found herself horribly lost that the shock of the events of the previous twenty-something hours hit her.

 _Hard_.

The resulting dizziness forced her against a marble statue for support, her hand clamped over her mouth as tears poured from her eyes. Violent sobs racked her body.

It was all gone…all of it…for good. And she was standing in the marble hall with the acceptance of a new god and a new teacher... _Coward...traitorous bitch. You left them all and you've already forgotten them._

"What do we have here?!"

The shock of the intrusive voice momentarily pulled her from her sorrow and she jerked up, ready for a fight-she didn't know why, even. It wasn't in the least hostile: a bit older than Abel, his hand around a cane that he didn't seem to need, a pipe in his free hand.

"Ah! The new girl!" He stated, more to himself that her, it seemed.

She nodded, unsure of what else to do with that statement.

"Father William! Do not antagonize the poor child!"

He stumbled back from the hologram that suddenly materialized beside him, her fists balled at her sides.

"I'm doing no such thing," He replied.

Kate proceeded to give him a short, to the point, but fairly blunt lecture on the need for good etiquette and manners and the importance of not startling females who had already had a bad day. He even tried to defend himself for the first few sentences, but when it became clear Kate would simply drown him out with her own voice, he shut up, nodding in placation.

"Are you alright?" Kate asked, peering down at her as she finished the speech.

Sakura mumbled over her hand, again fixed over her mouth. She was going to be sick. She couldn't bear to look at them and their comraderie...she couldn't bear to think about the fact that she would never know that again. 

"What was that?" Kate asked, leaning down to better hear her.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Sakura replied.

"Oh!" Kate gasped, "Follow me."

* * *

Kate stood patiently outside of the door, listening to the girl's violent retching for some time. She was just starting to get genuinely worried when she heard the faucet in the bathroom twist once. Water ran for a time while, Kate assumed, she cleaned herself up. But when she still didn't emerge, Kate considered getting help. After all, she was just a bunch of colorful photons with a human brain and spirit behind them. But if the girl really was in trouble, she wouldn't be able to do much more than get more corporeal help.

"Sister Kate, may I inquire as to your current position? Today's agenda indicates you should be aboard _Iron Maiden_ making necessary adjustments to the guidance systems."

Kate's initial annoyance with him quickly dissolved when she saw him.

"Father Tres!" She was overjoyed. 

"Affirmative," He replied.

"Would you check on the girl in there?" She asked.

"Affirmative," He responded.

Kate couldn't help but smile at his lack of propriety. It was so very endearing to her. 

He emerged a moment later, supporting the sweaty and pale girl with one arm.

"Are you alright?" Kate asked.

"Scans indicate high levels of stress have resulted in a weakened system."

Kate sighed to herself, translating his words back into simple English: She was sick.

"Recommended course of action entails rest and the intake of calories."

Kate was just about to respond when Abel interrupted her, appearing from behind them and asking what had happened.

"She isn't feeling well," Kate replied before Tres could go on a ten minute analytical tirade.

"I am preparing to return her to her quarters," Tres added.

"Can I be of assistance?" Abel asked with his usual goofy grin.

"Yes. Please have some food brought up to her," Kate replied.

"Very well, then," Abel said, turning down the hall as Tres walked up the opposite side and Kate disappeared back into cyberspace.

* * *

She was awake, sitting up in her bed, when he came in carrying a tray of food. It was a simple meal: bread, cheese, fruit, and milk. And she ate methodically as he watched.

She reminded him so much of himself, shortly after Lilith died; when he had locked himself in her tomb for almost a millennia, refusing himself food, water, and sleep and sustaining off the energy of the nano machines in his blood. He had nearly killed himself and it was only because of a band of marauding Methuselah that he survived. True, he had taken in their blood to quench his thirst but he felt nothing as he did. It was simply automatic…simply numb. And it had been years since then until he allotted himself enjoyment in simple thinks like eating and drinking.

But he had only lost one person…and he had time still to reconcile his sins and repent. But she had lost everything she had known…and her kind aged and died so quickly, as Astha had once said.

"Master…"

"Yes?"

"Why did you save me?"

He smiled, "Because you have a friend in me."

Her head snapped up, her eyes finding his, widening at the truth behind his, tears running down her face.

'So much like…like Naruto…'

_**TBC** _


	3. Survival

_**Chapter Three: Survival** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or Naruto!** _

She buried herself in her studies, the same way she had when Naruto and Sasuke left. She devoted herself entirely to learning the codes of conduct, to memorizing the proper ways to greet high ranking humans and Methuselah, she learned quickly not to use the word 'vampire' to avoid insulting them; to training with the various mentors they sent her. She ate little, choosing not to partake of the social experiences that accompanied meals. Experiences that might bring back the memories she tried so hard to suppress. And having done it once before, she found it easier than an outsider might believe it to be. And sometimes that scared her more than the Methuselah.

* * *

Sakura woke to a beam of sunlight streaming in through her window. Groaning, she pushed her sweat damp hair aside and pushed herself into a sitting position.

Sleep alluded her often because to sleep was to give up control to your subconscious…to let things surface that were better left buried beneath consciousness. It was like giving her memories free restraint to rape her of what little control and feeling she still had. She shook her head, fearing her train of thought might lead her down a path she didn't want to go. She got up, knowing that the best way to get over something was to work it off. The sooner her day got started, the sooner she could forget.

But maybe, one day, she could remember without the urge to tear open her own chest.

She pushed her hair away from her face. It was longer than it had been that day, five months previously, when Abel had saved her. The people she had cut it for were dead now…no reason to hold onto the past.

She crumpled to her knees, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed.

Sakura eventually picked herself up, the same way she had every day for the last five months, and showered and dressed in the same order she had for the last five months.

Routine kept her from going crazy, the thoughtless habits that filled her day and stopped her from thinking about anything too profound. It was routine that saved her: get up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, study the arts of diplomacy and rhetoric, learn the proper use of a gun, study hand-to-hand, memorize the hierarchy of the Empire and the names of important figures, train with various teachers, eat dinner, shower again, go to bed, wake up, shower, get dressed…

She snapped up at the sound of a bird outside of her window, singing quietly to its friends. Her eyes widened as she pulled the curtain back slowly, letting sunlight flood her room again. She didn't know why she expected the Chidori to be buzzing outside of her window. It was always just birds...never Sasuke. Never Kakashi. 

She already knew she couldn't continue living in such ordered numbness forever.

But if she broke, she was sure she wouldn't ever come back. 

* * *

Sakura smoothed the black outfit across her hips. They had been surprisingly accommodating in her desire to maintain her older tastes. In this case, a black skirt with fitted shorts, slit up the front and back, and a black, high-necked, sleeveless shirt. Her hair was suspended in a ponytail, much like Ino's hair used to be…

' _No! Don't think_.' She told herself, shaking away the sentiment as she jogged across the field.

She jogged right into Tres. Naturally, the blow fazed only her, sending her stumbling back with a slightly bloodied nose.

"Father Tres," She stated in mild shock, her hand over her nose to staunch the flow of blood.

"The Duchess Milan wishes to see you," He stated simply.

"Oh!" Sakura replied, muttering a quick good-bye before she started down the next hall, which opened onto the training area.

Thankfully, the Duchess' office was close and it was short run before she reached the massive double doors.

She rapped lightly on them, received the okay to enter, and did. Slipping inside, she gently closed the door behind her and took her place beside, of all people, Father Nightroad.

"Good to see you, Sister. I assume you studies are going well?"

"Yes, thank you, Lady Caterina," Sakura replied.

"Now, on to business: Lately, there's been a rash of Methuselah and Terran disappearances in and around Istvan."

"Istvan?" Abel muttered, hoping he had heard wrong.

Being the buffer city between the vampire Empire and the Human world, any, even seemingly small, shift could result in full out war between the Vatican and the Empire. That was something he was quite eager to avoid.

"Yes," Caterina sighed, "I want you two to find out what's happening over there and stop it."

* * *

"Hurry up!" Sakura yelled irritably as she dove for the closing train doors, dragging the protesting priest behind her as the doors slammed behind them.

"You can be so impatient sometimes," He stated as he collapsed back against a seat.

"We wouldn't be late if it wasn't for your obsession with milk tea!" She snapped back.

He pouted, averting his eyes and she didn't know if she should feel guilty or victorious. 

* * *

It was late night when they finally stepped off the train, the faint hiss of the closing doors fading behind them with the dying roar of the train itself. A white fog had settled over the platform and it was eerily quiet.

"Well, it would appear our greeting train has failed to arrive," He stated, hauling his suitcase up.

"Do you think something happened?"

"Well we won't know until we get there, now will we?" He replied enthusiastically.

She sighed, bowing her head and following after the prancing priest.

* * *

"I am so sorry! I completely forgot I was supposed to meet you!" The nun cried out when they reached the church, were admitted, and explained the situation.

"There, there, it's not a big deal," Abel smiled.

"It's so embarrassing," She replied, hiding her cherry red face.

"We're just glad you're safe," Abel insisted.

"Well, at least let me bring you some food. You can rest in the rooms upstairs while I prepare it," She said, hurrying back down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Well…uh…that was…" He began but by then, Sakura was already half way up the hall.

"Hey! Wait for me!" He cried, scurrying after her and consequently tripping.

Sakura huffed in aggravation; she wasn't even sure what had annoyed her so badly—just that he was a suitable target for her rage. And she was immediately sorry for that thought and made up her mind to make it up to him later when she was less irritated. She found a room, as the nun directed, and laid her stuff down on the floor, listening briefly to Abel and the Sister converse. Then she went to her window, opened it, and let the fresh air in and sunlight in. Istvan was really quite pretty. It was the blatant corruption in its people that took away its luster.

She heard a cry and glanced down below to see the police beat against a helpless man. She hadn't even heard a charge read against him…

"Hey! What exactly do you think you're doing?" She called down to them.

"Oh…Sister…" One trailed off.

"Leave him alone," Sakura stated, watching to make sure the man put some distance between him and police before she pulled herself back inside of the window.

"That was a noble thing to do."

She turned to Abel, who had at some point or another materialized in the doorway.

"No. It was right," She replied, turning her back on him again.

"True," Abel responded thoughtfully.

"Well, in any case," He continued. "We should get down to investigating."

"I was thinking about that. And I think I have a plan," She replied.

* * *

She shifted uncomfortably in the bench, feigning fear at being a single female alone on a street in the middle of a city like Istvan.

"Hey, there, honey."

She didn't look up, instead cowering slightly in the bench, pulling herself in close.

"Now, now, don't be afraid. We ain't gonna hurt ya…much."

A hand tore away the hat that hid her hair and eyes and another came under her chin, forcing her head upwards. Sakura knew from the files Caterina had given them that people of moderate skill and interest were taken, while those who were completely ordinary or weak were left.

Her hand came up, wrapping around his wrist.

"I'd suggest you let me go," She stated simply with a smirk.

She reached up and cracked the bone of his wrist with a squeeze. 

"Little bitch!" He yelled, attempting to back-hand her.

Sakura's left hand came up, catching his fist and twisting as she brought her knee up into his stomach just hard enough to wind him. She extended her leg, shoving him back against the ground. His friends growled, coming at her; Sakura kicked up as high as she could, sending the first reeling with a blow to his jaw into the third. The second managed to grab her arm, but it was an easy matter to shove him away.

"Ah, you'd make a fine specimen."

She turned on the voice, instantly knowing that this wasn't a common street walker. The killing intent radiating off him was crushing. She was drowning in bloodlust and desire. She reminded herself she wanted to be taken. She had to be for the plan to work. She saw his fingers move and for a brief second, she wondered what he was doing. It wasn't until a net of incredibly fine silver strands came around her that she realized he was likely a version of puppeteer, like Kankuro. She writhed weakly, unable to position herself in the net appropriately. This was bad…even if she wanted to, or needed to, fight she wouldn't be able to move with any range of motion.

"You might as well stop. I don't want my newest toy beaten to a bloody pulp before I ever get around to it," He smiled, appearing suddenly in front of her and running his fingers along her jaw and down the curve of her neck.

Sakura resisted the urge to smirk as she bit into the trace in her mouth, activating it.

And somewhere close by, Abel's positioning unit lit up.

* * *

Sakura let herself be stuffed into the cattle compartment of a train along with probably fifty other humans. It was a sign of his confidence than none of them were bound or gagged in any way. But it was also undeniable that they had given up: no one even screamed for help or even attempted to get at the doors. Sakura watched as the panic set it and they began to fight among themselves, at one point even knocking the nearest women around. That was when she stood up.

"Stop," She stated as she caught a man's wrist and pushed him back gently.

The glare she sent them got all but one or two to sit back down immediately, but even they complied when their peers went down.

She knelt down beside the female, eyeing the tear along her eyebrow for a moment before she brought her glowing hand to the wound and sealed it.

"T…thank you," The woman stuttered.

Sakura shrugged, sitting back down and keeping an eye on the compartment. She desperately wanted to tell them that she was with the Vatican and there to help them. However, she already knew they were likely watching her every move and taping her every word. She had already jeopardized them in healing that woman.

_Stupid...useless..._

* * *

Sakura didn't even know what time it was when the train finally pulled to a stop. However, she knew more than twelve hours had definitely elapsed because the sun was just setting behind them. That meant the compound was towards the east, closer to the True Human Empire. She was suddenly shoved forward but something that she took to be a Methuselah. She wasn't quite sure: it wore a helmet and goggles but no armor aside from that. Its bare chest was draped with a cloak, and an ax was strapped to its back. Privately, she felt revulsion rise up in her throat but suppressed it and followed in line behind the other captives. They were funneled into a dark room the size of a gymnasium, where several hundred other humans were.

No lighting, very little air flow, a single, windowless bathroom…

It was only because of her keen, trained eyes that she saw the faint lines in the gym that marked a door, and one that bolted so heavily, even she would have had a hard time breaking it in, let alone a bunch of frightened humans. Even so, they were all taken for a special or rare kind of skill they possessed…so why hadn't they rallied?

She didn't have that answer. And she couldn't afford to waste time thinking about. She set herself up in a corner, made herself small, and observed. Iruka had taught them well. Sakura knew how to take note in her mind, how to plan and how to listen to her gut, she knew how to withstand torture and solitude. Iruka had taught her well. And she wouldn't sully his memory by failing to use those teachings. 

She waited several hours before a half dozen of the guards appeared carrying tubs. It took her a moment to realize why everyone was converging on them like lions on a wounded antelope: they were filled with a kind of thin gruel. Quite literally, the guards dropped the tubs and disappeared again as the people began, of course, to fight over them. Sakura even saw small children, taken for their abilities several weeks earlier, shoved aside.

"Everyone calm down!" She finally screamed, standing up and drawing herself up to her full height; admittedly, it wasn't much, but she was counting on the fact that she was the only one willing to do it that would prevent them from contradicting her. Still, to her surprise, they did in fact back away, as if scared.

Sighing, she stated, "I'm not going to hurt you. But we can't act like animals."

There was a quiet mumble of approval.

"Good. Now, line up: the ill first, then the children, then the women and then the men. Eat only what you need and save the rest for the hungry."

In an act of almost single-minded obedience, they did as she asked.

But even she had hoped for a little more fight from them…she wanted someone to stand up and challenge her and prove they hadn't been broken completely. Naruto never would have broken. Not like that. She stopped herself. There was no time for thinking. 

She took control: she regulated everything from shower use in the morning to the line-up for dinner in the evening. She synchronized how the limited blankets they received were used and how water was rationed. Everything passed by her for an okay before it was done. But even she couldn't protect them when every so often one of them was hauled off and didn't return. She couldn't break her cover. And she hated herself for each scream that she didn't respond to. 

Tsunade would have been ashamed of the medic she had become. 

She glanced up and an outward as another was dragged silently from their throngs and hauled through the single door, which bolted audibly behind the guards.

Almost two days had elapsed; not surprising…they had arrived on train. It was unlikely back-up would come the same way. 

* * *

Abel climbed over the ridge, scanning for any sign of a potential enemy. Finding none, he scrambled into the next set of brambles and down the hill.

There he found the set of train tracks that technically didn't exist on the maps he had. It was quite ingenious, actually; a set of rails that split from a side branch that had been mostly abandoned and was no longer in use. It was so far from the main city and tracks that it was highly unlikely anyone would have discovered it if not for the tracking unit Sakura was signaling him with.

And he knew of only one organization that could fund that kind of endeavor with the type of secrecy necessary for its success: Rosenkruez.

* * *

Sakura shivered involuntarily when a pair of massive hands came across her arms, hauling her off her feet.

"No! Please!" One of the children cried, running forward.

"Stop!" Sakura screamed and the child froze, "I'll be alright, just remember what I told all of you, okay?"

Several heads bobbed and then she was hauled through the door and down a hall. She heard the door bolt behind her, the footsteps of the guards returning to their posts.

It was a single hall, leading to a single white door under bright, fake white lights.

She couldn't suppress the cry that rose from her throat as the door was opened.

* * *

Abel's keen eyes filtered out the static darkness and focused on the three vague figures hovering around the shanty-like compound. But even with the appearance of the place, he knew not to underestimate the horrors that lay inside.

"Sister Kate?" He whispered quietly into the radio in his ear.

"He's there, Father, awaiting your signal," She replied faintly.

* * *

Sakura's eyes widened in horror, the cry still in her throat.

"I'm sorry, does this offend you?" A male asked, tossing his coppery hair back as he rose from the bloody work on the nearest table and walked over.

There were disemboweled bodies hanging from the rafters, organs in a preservation fluids, human spine and bones sharpened and cleaned, hung on the walls, there were scalps in trays, and exposed skulls on surgical tables, bodies linked to life support systems even when their head were split and their grey matter gone.

Sakura's teeth bit into her lip as she met his gaze, her green eyes blazing.

He smirked, wiping his hand on the apron before proceeding to turn her head, as if inspecting her jaw line and neck. And then his eyes roved down, past her breasts, stomach, and thighs and back up again.

"You will make a particularly beautiful puppet," He smirked.

Her eyes narrowed and her nose crinkled in disgust.

"I don't think you realize what I could do to you," He told her in a sinister whisper, so close to her ear that she felt his lips brush against it. "Your nervous system is my playground."

She snapped her head back violently, forcing him back a full step with a bloody nose. 

"Do you know the kinds of torture I could inflict on you? Or the pleasures?" He asked, wiping at his nose with a pristine white napkin. 

She didn't reply, her eyes still on his.

He smirked again, motioning vaguely with his hand. His guards complied, slamming her against a table and tying her down so tightly she could barely breathe.

'If these were a quarter of an inch looser…' She thought, unable even to writhe against the bounds. Her strength was useless against whatever the material was. She felt the bones in her wrist groan with the effort of chakra building up in them with nowhere to go. 

"Don't worry, I'll make it as fast as possible," He told her, brandishing the scalpel in his hand.

Gunshots rang out from down the hall as the door suddenly flew open, colliding with the first guard.

A brown and black blur sped in, rounds going off in a blaze of bullets and sparks. Several blasts ripped through the straps binding her.

Dietrich's eyes fell on her, his hand pulling back.

"I don't think so!" Sakura cried as she rolled off the side of the gurney, kicking it back up at him. She heard the bones in his wrist give as the table struck him, the surgical blade skittering across the tile floor.

She never even saw his free hand flex and the lines whip towards her, only a blaze of gunfire that saved her.

"Stand down," Abel ordered, his gun still giving off a fine trail of vapor.

Dietrich smirked at him, slamming his fist against the wall. A series of explosions racked the roof, sending massive chunks of concrete and steel on top of them. All of their effort went into dodging the slabs and they forget entirely about him.

When the dust finally cleared, he was gone, as usual. In the compound, she heard distant gunfire. 

* * *

Sakura helped the last child onto the transport and waved as the platform rose and the ship pulled away, bearing them back home.

"Excellent work," Abel told her, appearing behind her.

"Not really. He still managed to escape," She replied, her hand dropping to her side.

"True, but all and all, the outcome could have been much worse," He said.

She nodded in a kind of half-agreement, her fist clenching at her side.

"Master, permission to inspect the corpses?"

Abel paled, hesitating. But eventually he nodded.

Sakura nodded back in recognition, tying her hair back as she stepped back into the destroyed compound and knelt beside the nearest corpse. Chakra flowed from her hands and into the body, gently inspecting it. The results horrified her: the Methuselah had been dissected alive and then implanted with an electrical device that kept the cells alive without bringing back higher brain function and its self-preservation instincts had been severely suppressed.

She shivered, realizing how close she had come to be one of those things. Worse than Sasori's puppets. 

She turned away, opaque tears running down her face.

She would stop him, because she had to. What he was doing was an abomination of nature and its very principles. If he thought he could play God, he had another thing coming. 

Tsunade would expect that...She would want it. 

_**TBC** _


	4. Dawn to Dusk

_**Chapter Four: From Dawn to Dusk** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood!** _

_**Notes: I hate the way Shippuden Sakura's hair looks in a ponytail. So when her hair is up, picture it as curling up or in a style like Ino's.** _

Sakura and Abel, along with Gunslinger, had only just arrived in Vatican City when they were again called to Caterina's office. And, as was befitting of their position, they arrived immediately.

"I assume the mission was rougher than we predicted?" She asked, eyeing a dirty and injured Abel and Sakura. Naturally, and irritatingly, Tres was completely unfazed…

"You could say that," Abel allowed.

"Well, I'm sorry to send you out again so soon," She began, "After much negotiation, we've talked the Empire into meeting with Rome and Albion in the hopes of furthering trade. If all goes well, this could be the beginning of good relations with the Empire."

"And where do we fit in?" Sakura asked.

"As personal guards," Caterina replied. "This event has been highly publicized and is subject to terrorist movement. We cannot allow this to happen. The slightest misstep could result in all out war."

"Why, then, was knowledge of the proceedings handed to the media?" Abel asked.

"We can't afford to appear weak, Abel. It was mutually decided this would be the best course of action."

Abel sighed, nodding in compliance.

"Now, you only have a few hours before we are set to depart," She added, sipping at a cup of tea. "I suggest you come prepared."

* * *

Sakura literally clamored for her shower, rinsing the filth away from her hair and body, all the time thinking about what she would need: kunai, shuriken, a few line of reel, the basic medical kit, if she could get her hands on the right herbs, she could even put together a rough batch of military rations…

She turned off the water, sliding out of the shower and into a robe. From there, she dressed in the first thing she found: a high-necked, sleeveless red shirt that fell to her hips and a black skirt, slit in four directions, with white shorts beneath. She strapped on her boots and pulled her gloves into place, tying her hair into a ponytail. Then she buckled her weapons holsters in place. Everything was methodical, automatic, and clear. Everything in its place as she readied herself.

She glanced at the clock. Time was never on her side. 

* * *

Abel took down his hair, rinsing it briefly in the sink in his quarters. He splashed some of the same, cold water across his face, wiping away the blood and mud that had adhered there. Satisfied for the moment, he changed his clothing and reloaded his gun, cleaning it as he went. He may have acted like a bumbling idiot most of the time, but he really wasn't. He knew the chances for attack were great and privately he cursed Caterina for putting them in such a situation-something he rarely did and always instantly regretted. She was just doing her job, but sometimes that made his job a lot harder. He had no right to complain, he knew. Never...never again. All those murders, all that blood...An ocean of corpses. All by his hand. He would do whatever Caterina required of him. And it would never be enough to repent. 

He sighed, rotating the revolving barrel with a twist of his wrist. Satisfied it would perform, he stood, holstering it and draping his jacket over it.

* * *

As was their custom, the AX met in the privacy of the Professor's library to discuss their course of action and their secondary and tertiary plans over cups of Kate's herbal tea.

"Now, according to the reports filed by both you and Father Nightroad, we have a problem," Vaclav began, showing his statistics to Sakura.

"It would appear the Order finally understands the 'quality over quantity' principle," The Professor stated as he looked over a copy of the report.

"And that doesn't make our job any easier," Leon replied gruffly.

"I assume we'll be employing an Alpha formation," William stated.

"Exactly," Vaclav began. "Sister Sakura, you and Father Abel are to stay with His Holiness at all costs."

Sakura nodded, she had worked this kind of operation before and was the perfect candidate: a defensive fighter with medical capability.

"Father Leon and I with guard Her Eminence," Vaclav continued. "Father William and Father Tres will cover our perimeter."

"And our secondary course of action?" Sakura inquired.

"At this point in time, your only orders are to safeguard the Pope. If something happens and the situation changes, go by that guideline unless you receive orders stating otherwise that you can authenticate," Vaclav told her.

She nodded, hoping that the crushing defeat Rosenkruez had recently suffered would prevent them from moving again so quickly.

But she knew better than to think so optimistically.

* * *

Part of the plan entailed the use of multiple decoys: lookalikes were flying aboard several of the Vatican's own ships, while the genuine article was seated comfortably in Albion's _Tristan_. Shortly before Abel escorted the Pope aboard, Sakura had scouted the ship, noting weakness and possible escape paths. To reduce the likelihood a potential attack would kill both leaders, Caterina was on another ship under the charge of Brother Petro Orcini and his personal staff. For the time being, all AX members were protecting the Pope.

As they had discussed, Sakura and Abel remained with the Pope in the main cabin, doors bolted and curtains drawn. The other AX members worked the ship as spies and buffers, radioing back to Sakura or Abel frequently to assure them no problems had arisen.

"It looks like we're off to a good start, then," Abel stated after over an hour of monotony.

"Master Override Code Accepted. Sealing Compartment Doors."

"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Sakura sighed, rising.

"Professor, where are you?" She asked over their com link.

"Stuck in the galley," He responded.

"And Father Leon?"

He interrupted over his own radio, "I'm caught between Hall Three and Four."

"Where's Father Vaclav?"

"At last report he was in one of the restaurants," Leon replied gruffly.

"And Tres?"

"I am unable to comply with current requests to return to His Holiness," He replied simply before dialing out.

Sakura hissed to herself, glancing at the clearly frightened Pope. Instantly, her expression softened.

"We can't stay here," She stated simply.

"Agreed. Your Holiness, I apologize," He replied, breaking open a vent and motioning for Sakura to go first before shoving him after her and following himself. Fixing the grate back in place to keep up appearances, he followed after them down the vent.

"Shh…" Sakura whispered, putting her finger to her lips as the passed an overhead vent.

Two Methuselah were arguing below them; she couldn't quite get the conversation, but she did get the fact they were both very scared; if they failed now, they would be killed...there was a name she couldn't quite make out, a scream...

She didn't want to risk their position any longer and motioned for them to follow.

* * *

She kicked out the next vent, dropping down, ready to dispatch the next thing that moved. When nothing did, she hauled the Pope to his feet and allowed Abel to climb out of the vent.

"We need to find the others," He stated as he righted himself.

"But it's dangerous to move with the Pope," She replied.

"Yes. That's why I move alone. Stay here if the situation allows. Keep on the com link," He stated, breaking back into a vent and down it.

Sakura nodded, backing the Pope into a corner so there were only a few directions an attack could come from.

"Sorry…but I have my orders," She told him.

"It's alright…" He replied sheepishly.

"I'm sure Father Nightroad will be back soon," She added.

He nodded back fearfully and Sakura found herself feeling very deeply for his situation; he was a kid responsible for an entire world. Naruto, she thought painfully, uselessly, would have liked him. Would have protected him. 

* * *

Leon fired several times, screaming at them to bring it on and see how they did. Even more Death Hunters filed in from the vents.

They had attacked the moment he had finished his link-up with Sakura and they hadn't stopped since. Already the hall was a sea of crimson an inch deep and thick. And they just kept coming; it was getting hard to maneuver around the corpses and his bulk was working against him in a big way. He barely had the room to maneuver when they did get close.

He didn't even notice the silver threads creeping in the blood around him.

* * *

The Professor hummed quietly to himself as he hacked the network, jammed the system, rerouted power, and opened the door only to find himself facing eight heavily armed Methuselah. Luckily, he proved the faster gunner and quickly dispatched them in ten rounds.

"Now then…to find the others," He stated to himself, passing under a vent spraying thin silver threads.

* * *

Vaclav had already activated his cloaking system and easily slid through the vampiric masses, leaving a crimson trail behind him. Wiping the crimson gore from his jacket, he deactivated the system and waded through the scarlet pools.

He didn't notice the metallic fibers in the folds of his armor.

* * *

Tres, by linking himself into the system, was able to force open the doors and make his way back down the hall. He noted nothing strange as he moved and focused instead on finding Sakura—where she was, the Pope would be.

The vents around him suddenly gave and he was surrounded by Death Hunters. With a rather human sigh, he leveled his guns with the nearest pairing. Blood exploded across the room, bodies falling just as quickly as his finger depressed the triggers. Within a second, it was over.

"Switching from Attack Mode to Strategic Planning Mode."

As he stepped forward, a delicate filament fell into his clothing.

* * *

The door slammed inward, the imprint of a fist visible on the reverse side. The room filled with the audible tearing of steel.

"Stay where you are!" Sakura cried to the Pope, pulling a shuriken from her holster and leveling her aim; the metal was being forced apart and for an instant, their attacker would be vulnerable.

The metal cracked, splitting wide open.

"There!" She exclaimed, drawing her arm back and flinging the weapon through the crack.

A gout of blood spilled from the Methuselah as it fell backward. And another took its place.

There was the roar of gunfire, a spray of scarlet, and Tres.

"Enemy terminated," He stated simply as he forced open the doors, stepped in, and took up his place in the frame as a guard.

The radio crackled back to life as the electronic command computer stated, "Manuel System Control Restored; Reversal of Compartment Seals engaging."

Sakura gave a small sigh of relief as the doors snapped open and the AX members filed back into the cabin, last of all Abel, who bore a rather suspicious and knowing smile.

* * *

"In response to the recent attack, security for the Council has been stepped up," Kate assured them as she radioed back from the _Iron Maiden_. The news coming from her side of the operation was poor. Two vessels lost completely, no survivors. Three more trying to rally an assault. Five master codes mysteriously obtained and disseminated. Too many suspects to narrow down.  

"Good. We'll be arriving soon," Abel responded, severing the com link.

"Just a thought…" The Professor began. "For an attack arranged by the Order that was quite…ineffective."

"Specs indicate that victory was assured from the moment of engagement," Tres responded, his eye flashing red briefly.

"Well, there you go!" Leon replied, sitting back in his chair.

Sakura smiled, although she did have to agree with the Professor. It seemed odd that a full-out assassination attempt would be abandoned so lightly. But the body count was in the dozens, pointing directly to the prowess and skill of the AX Deputy Enforcers. So perhaps they _had_ simply repelled it. A good shinobi knew when they had lost and retreated. Better to fight another day, when you could. Maybe these people thought similarly. 

* * *

The landing was smooth and they were greeted immediately by Astha, who had been reassigned, via direct orders from the Empress, to place herself on his guard detail until the actual Council.

"Best to get moving," She told them, ushering them into the building they would be staying out in a matter of moments.

"The Council convenes in one hour. I suggest you be prepared," She added as she showed them into their room.

"We'll be ready," Abel assured her, reloading his gun and clicking the barrel back into place.

"Positive," Tres agreed, checking his own ammunition.

"Good. Now, my agency has already scoped the building. It's clean," Asthe assured them.

"Have all the parties arrived safely?" Vaclav asked.

"Affirmative," Asthe responded.

"Now, we just need to get through the Council itself," Sakura said, leveling her gun at a wall to check its alignment. "Are you sure you'll be able to capture them if things go down the way intel says they will?"

"Positive," Tres responded simply.

"Good," She stated mildly, holstering the gun again.

She hated the weapon. It was too easy to kill and take no real part in it. Better to bloody her hands than to hide behind it. 

"Best to get going now," Asthe said, motioning for them to follow her through a back passage and into the streets.

Sakura filed in first, followed by the Duchess of Kiev. The Pope kept behind them, guard from the left and right by his assigned guard while Abel brought up the rear.

"Now, the Council procession begins soon. After the public showing, they will be sealed in a chamber to conduct their business. Afterwards, they will adjourn and return to their cabins for the night. If all goes well, the extension into tomorrow won't be necessary," Duchess Kiev stated as they stepped into the procession line-up just outside of the Chambers.

Sakura, taking note of Caterina and her brother's position as well as that of the Methuselah representatives, saw nothing unusual…not even one out of place face.

The march began, a fifteen minute show of faith among those present. And for fourteen nothing occurred. By thirteen, she was feeling this mission might go off without a further hitch.

That's when the smoke grenades dropped into the line-up.

Five landed between the AX members and the Pope. The grayish smoke was so thick, Sakura couldn't see or breathe. In a desperate attempt to pinpoint the Pope, she reached out, hoping he had simply collapsed to his knees rather than made a break for it. Something brushed by her hand inhumanely fast, he screamed, and she was shoved to the ground.

The crowd was beginning to run, trampling each other…and she was prone against the earth.

"Sakura!" Abel cried, hauling her to her feet.

"The Pope…he's been captured," She coughed.

"The Empress has also been abducted," Tres replied as the smoke began to clear and he accessed the damage.

"AX! Time to move!" Leon cried, vaulting himself over a nearby wall and after that last Methuselah assailant.

Sakura nodded, breaking past the crowd and after Leon with the other AX members going in their own directions over the wall.

But just as they cleared the wall when a second rain of smoke grenades hit them. Leon turned to help them, only to be engulfed in the smoky chaos.

"Keep going!" The Professor cried, "Don't lose them!"

Sakura nodded over her shoulder, pivoting on her heel and sprinting after them. She followed them through the city square, cursing the lack of light that was necessary for a conference with the Methuselah outside of the Empire. But she was able to keep up with them, right up until the time they disappeared into the sewer systems. Sakura, following closely and aggressively, pursued them actively from within the system. She was getting suspicious: why hadn't they attacked to get her off their tail, or even just to bide some time? And they had to know that going into the sewer would only make them easier to find-every sound they made would be amplified five times and it severely limited their escape options.

However, her duty was clear: save the Pope.

Eventually, the sewers linked into a highly advanced, but obviously ancient city under the ground. She imagined it had been there for a while, Post-Armageddon; not that she'd reconciled the fact the world had ended thousands of years before her birth, and yet she was still there. The kunoichi made her mind skip over that fact. Getting distracted meant dying. Iruka had told her that. 

The city, despite its clear state of abandonment, was still lit quite brightly and in the time it took for her eyes to adjust, she had lost them.

"Damn it…" She hissed, running down the nearest street and around the corner.

There she saw the briefest flicker of movement. She sprinted after it.

The vampire rounded the next corner, ducking into a building with Sakura hot on his tail. In a desperate attempt to stop her, he barred the door. But that was taken care of with a single powerful kick that snapped the bar cleanly in half, shattering the doors and throwing them open.

Her gun snapped into place, her aim leveling against the Methuselah holding the Pope.

"Release him," She ordered, her gun aimed between the Pope's captor and the vampire holding the unconscious Empress. She hated the weapon. Hated it. But she would use it to save them if she had to. 

"You are surrounded."

Her eyes flickered over her shoulder to Tres, the laser of his guns falling across the next two as Leon appeared in the rafters above, the Professor emerging from the shadows and Vaclav materializing behind them.

"And that's just how we hoped it would go."

Sakura inhaled sharply at the recognition of the voice; she snapped towards him, her eyes narrowing with her rage.

"We have yet to be formally introduced; my name is Dietrich von Lohengrin." He stated with a bow.

Spinning, she turned back to the AX members, wondering why they hadn't fired…but all their guns were leveled on the Empress!

"What are you doing!?" She cried.

"I…can't…move!" Leon replied, straining against the control over his limbs.

"Why do you think we separated you on the _Tristan_? I needed to get you alone…to infect you." Dietrich replied, "How exactly do you think the Vatican will react when Caterina's own private agency assassinates the Empress of the Empire and their own Pope?" 

She would be executed, Sakura knew, as well as the AX members; and the Order could sweep in uninhibited.

Sakura raised her free gun, shooting the Methuselah holding the Pope and the next one, who had the Empress. Leaping in after the shots, she took a stand before the entire AX team and several rogue vampires.

"I won't let you."

"It's so much more fun when they try to fight back," Dietrich replied, flexing his fingers.

Leon was on top of her first, yelling at her to move even as he threw a punch at her. She ducked under them, weaving left to right before landing an uppercut to his jaw that sent him sprawling. But right behind him came the Professor, lashing his cane at her face, hips, and stomach. Blocking with her left arm, she slammed her right elbow into his stomach. Diving under him as cover from Tres' gunfire, she sprinted back around, trying to dispatch Leon again.

"Did you think it would be that simple?" Dietrich asked as Vaclav disappeared before her eyes.

'No! He's controlling their nervous systems, not just their bodies.' She realized, ducking back to guard the Pope, who was now clinging to the unconscious Empress.

"Let me apologize now," She stated, gathering chakra into her hands as rapidly as she could.

She waited for Vaclav to come to her, diving under his undercut and slamming her fist into his chest. In an instant, she had accessed the organic threads in his nervous system that were giving off the electrical impulses designed to control his systems, even the Lost Technology in his body. He slumped forward, allowing her a brief cover from the eyes of Leon, who was charging her from the right. Tossing the larger priest at him, she came at him from the right, slamming her palm against his stomach and severing the electrical link. Tres, having locked on to her now, began to fire. Unable to evade him in her current position, she felt the first projectile tear through her shoulder and another embed itself in her thigh. But the force of the blast knocked her in the perfect position to land a key blow to the back of the Professor's neck. He fell forward as she sprinted in behind him, her palm coming against the cyborg's temple, discharging the organic threads. In the same instant he flopped forward, her hand came over his wrist, taking his gun and leveling it the Methuselah and discharging it four times…four corpses hit the floor.

She slumped back against the wall, crimson blooming behind her as she fell to the floor.

"You're hurt!" The Pope cried, crawling to her.

"These only _look_ bad. Are _you_ alright?" She asked, flinching against the pain.

"I'm-m f-f-fine," He told her, smiling as best he could.

"Good," She replied, leaning back against the wall.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed. But you're still finished," Dietrich told her, appearing from the shadows, his fingers curling.

The nearest Methuselah corpse leapt up at her, a blade sliding from his sleeve.

"No!" Sakura screamed, throwing herself across the Pope.

A spray of blood showered them, filling the air with scarlet liquid.

"Master!" Sakura cried, the point driven having been driven clean through his leg and mere inches from her own chest.

"I think that's quite enough," Abel stated, pushing his glasses over the bridge of his nose.

"Ah…Father Nightroad. You do have a penchant for showing up at the right moment," Dietrich replied with an amused smirk.

"Master!" Sakura cried.

"I'm fine," He replied, "How are the others?"

"They won't be able to move for a few minutes, but they're fine," She replied, "The Empress and His Holiness are, too."

"You did wonderfully," He told her, smiling brightly before turning back to Dietrich. His gun snapped into place, several rounds going off. But by then, the Puppet Master had disappeared behind a shroud of retreating Death Hunters. 

She glanced back at him, hiding the discomfort of her wounds. If she played it right, the black clothing would hide the injuries until she could heal them in private. In the mean time, she worked on fallen AX members, slowly stimulating their nervous systems and, figuratively rebooting their bodies. Naturally, the electrical impulses she had used to break Dietrich's control did quite a bit of harm. But even that was relatively easy to resolve with her abilities.

Ten minutes later, all of the AX members were safely back on their feet and even the Empress had been revived; well, the Empress's stand in, the Duchess of Moldova anyway. A perfectly lovely woman that took it in stride. 

"Well, if that's all set and done, we'd best be on our way," Abel stated, ushering them out back into the street with the intention of leading them out of the city.

Sakura followed, offering to take up the rear. No one objected and they began the march back through the deserted plaza and back into the sewer system.

They reached the city just as midnight was rolling around and it was agreed, for the sake of appearances, to go ahead and convene the Council despite the day's events. After that, Sakura saw nothing of the Pope for several hours. When he did finally emerge, they were ordered to accompany him and the Empress, again the stand-in, Duchess of Moldova, to the balcony that overlooked the Judgment Square of Albion-the neutral grounds for the three kingdoms-to make a statement.

"Thanks to the kindness of the Vatican and the Kingdom of Albion, the Empire has made great advances in diplomatic relations. We are grateful," The Duchess said, winking knowingly at the AX team.

The Pope stepped up beside her, followed by a proxy in place of Queen Esther who was attending to other business.

"We're…very…uh…" The Pope stuttered out, before the proxy kindly stepped in and began speaking with more eloquence.

In the background, Sakura felt her body twitch convulsively and her fingers drip a dagger.

"Father…Nightroad…" She stuttered painfully.

"Sakura?" He asked.

Before she knew what was happening, she had knocked him to the ground and was on top of the Pope, her hands poised to plunge the dagger into his chest.

"Stop her!" Vaclav cried, caught between two other AX members but having the presence of mind to pull the curtain cord, dropping the heavy red velvet between the audience and the scene unfolding before them.

The blade came down, blood sprayed over the balcony.

"Kill me…now, Father, before I hurt him…" She cried, tears pouring down her face and splashing on the gaping hole in her thigh.

"I won't," Abel replied, slamming against her and pinning her with his weight, "Fight back!"

"Kill me, NOW!" Sakura cried, writhing against her will beneath him.

"No," He snapped back, ordering the Professor over.

"We need to sever Dietrich's control." He said, waiting for the Professor to catch up with him.

"He hasn't fully penetrated her nervous system or her thoughts and words wouldn't be her own," He said. "She might be able to fight him back using the same method she used with us."

Her eyes flickered up to him, a silent yes resounding in that gaze. Chakra flowed into her system, burning away at the virulent coils in her nervous system. But just as quickly as she could muster the energy, Dietrich was viciously suppressing it. Pain shot through her abdomen so violently she retched. He was playing with her nerves, shifting between excruciating pain and dizzying convulsions low in her stomach.

"Didn't I tell you?" His voice asked, invading her thoughts.

She felt the violation almost physically, her teeth coming across her lips, "Get out!"

Chakra forced its way into her hands, which she clamped tightly over her thigh, her nails biting into already bloody and wounded flesh. Pain was her ally, it screwed slightly with his control, giving her an in. It seemed like an eternity, but eventually she forced the threads out through the wound in her thigh, pulling them out like she would a parasite, screaming intermittently with the pain of the process and her demands that he leave her alone.

She finally collapsed back against Abel, gasping for breath. Her chest was agony, the gaping wound in her thigh sent burning pain up and down her leg. 

"You did wonderfully," He told her as she dropped the kunai. 

Outside, it was thunderous applause and cheers and Caterina's soft voice wishing them a happy union and many good relations to come. Sakura closed her eyes. 

TBC


	5. Fallen Figure

_**Chapter Five: Fallen Figure** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood.** _

Caterina was more prepared for an interrogation by her brother than the media. It was the nature of their contentious relationship. She wasn't prepared for the two to coincide. The Iron Lady hastily gathered her thoughts. 

"It came to my attention shortly after the incident regarding the Special Deputy Enforcers that the Pope was in extreme danger from Methuselah assailants using Lost Technology. They reacted accordingly," Caterina stated.

"And how do you explain the appearance of the whole ordeal?" Her brother demanded furiously from behind her, in front of the entirety of the media coverage.

"Appearances, Brother, can be deceiving," She replied. "And we should know best; God, after all, works in mysterious ways."

Francesco de Medici snarled something that was lost in the buzz of microphones and voices. Caterina ended the questions as quickly as she could. 

"Our summit was a success. Ultimately, any obstacles encountered were dealt with accordingly. We stand on the precipice of peace. We should focus on making the best of our political relations." 

She walked away amid a flurry of shouted demands and inquiries. 

* * *

"It isn't like the Order to move so conspicuously," The Professor stated.

He should have amended his statement, he thought to himself. Dietrich loved the spotlight. He wanted to be the center of the world. The problem was that when he failed, the Orden was exposed. And they only responded two ways to premature exposure: they hid back away or they hit harder. 

"True, but we've thwarted their attempts so far; they might be getting desperate, particularly with the recent alliances between the Methuselah Empire and the human Albion and Vatican nations," Vaclav responded.

"I have to agree with big-brain," Leon snorted over his tea.

"Now, now, let's behave." Abel replied with a smile as he stirred in his twelfth sugar cube into his milk tea.

He tried not to think about the disturbing color of his tea...how similar it was to spilled brain matter against the pavement. He stirred in another cube. Dietrich bothered him in a way that Cain didn't. Cain killed with a smile, but he didn't enjoy suffering for the sake of suffering. Abel had thrown his gloves away. He hadn't been able to stomach the thought of watching Sakura's blood swirl down the drain. He glanced up at the clock. She was late. He didn't care. 

* * *

Sakura pushed the bloody rags into her trash can as she finished wiping the blood off of her shoulder and thigh. The stray bullet she kept wrapped in her spare clothing as a kind of trophy, physical proof she had, for a short time, bested the Order. She changed into a clean set of clothes, braiding her hair back, before turning to leave and join the others in the pavilion area for lunch. It was a short walk from her quarters to the pavilion and she had taken her seat within fifteen minutes, ordered her lunch, and was enjoying a cup of tea with the other AX agents.

"You were not present at the designated time. Requesting a full report," Tres stated as she stirred some sugar into her tea.

"I had some personal business to attend to," She replied.

She hadn't told them about medical jutsu. She selfishly wanted to keep some little piece of her relationship with Tsunade alive. One day she would explain to them. One day it wouldn't hurt so badly to be reminded of Tsunade's trainings. 

"Now Father Tres, she's obviously unharmed. Let's not interrogate her before she's had something to eat, at the least," The Professor replied.

"Positive," Tres stated simply.

Sakura smiled at the Professor, laughing to herself silently over the whole thing. 

"Albion really is quite pretty," She commented after a moment.

"Yes, it is. It's quite famous for its beauty," Abel replied. And the beauty of its queen. 

"I can see why," She said, looking out over the city.

And then the sky above them darkened and the roar of engines filled the space around them. Their heads snapped up.

Sakura inhaled, her gasp drowned in the others around her as they took in the massive battle ship; elliptical and heavily armed, it literally blocked out the sun. Hundreds of small orbs, roughly the size of a man, hovered around it.

"Isaak," Abel growled.

The first blast bathed them in red light, a massive orb of destruction emanating from the Eastern block. It was a picture identical to the attacks less than a year ago—except this time, the diplomats of the world were centered in the city limits.

"Sakura, go and evacuate the Methuselah representatives! Hurry!" He exclaimed, ordering Tres and Vaclav to follow him. "We'll buy as much time as we can. Professor, radio Kate and have her start taking evacuees aboard _Iron Maiden_. Leon, I need you to give us some cover from the ground."

Sakura nodded, leaping over the table and into the hall. She slammed the doors that she found behind her, blocking what little sunlight was filtering through completely and waking the sleeping vampires.

"What going on here!?" Ion demanded, throwing open his door as Sakura slammed another.

"The city is under attack, we need to evacuate now!" She replied, kicking in Mirka's door and informing her of the situation as briefly as she could.

Thankfully, the Duchess was accommodating and offered to rouse the other Methuselah. Sakura nodded, continuing down the hall, gathering them up as she did.

Naturally, Astha, and much of the Methuselah guard detail, was already up, evacuating the Methuselah in their halls down the left and up the right. Astha, in the middle of ushering a young diplomat into the hall, saw a glint of pink and turned on it.

"What's going on?" She demanded as Sakura turned into the hall.

"The Order," She replied.

Astha growled, her amber eyes flashing dangerously.

"We need to go, now, Lady Asran," Sakura said, motioning for the entire coalition to follow her.

"Where?" Ion demanded.

"We need to evacuate through the sewers. Kate will be waiting for us near the canals," Sakura replied.

The ground beneath them shook violently, several screams coming from the civilians outside. The walls had been caved in. Dangerous sunlight filtered in through the dust in bright, lethal slats. 

"We don't have time for this," Sakura sighed, slamming her fist against the ground, shattering it and dropping the entire group into the sewer system with a massive splash.

She figured most of them would be offended, but none of them said anything as she led them into the next tunnel although there was some grumbling from the nobles about the 'indignity' of the situation. Just like the Councils of Elders. 

_Stop. Don't think._

Thankfully, the sewers fed directly into the canal; but they still weren't out of danger yet: _Iron_ _Maiden_ was a massive ship with a poor low altitude speed—they would be a massive sitting duck for at least a full minute after they boarded, so it wasn't until they could see the light of day at the end of a tunnel that Sakura radioed Kate.

" _Iron Maiden_ , this is Sakura requesting immediate evac."

"Stand by, Sakura; Iron Maiden is docking in thirteen seconds," Kate replied as a shadow fell over the canal tunnel.

"When the bay doors open, run for it," Sakura told the Methuselah, pressing herself against the tunnel wall to give them more room as the ship landed in the water and the mechanical doors hissed with the release of pressurized gas; the ramp slid forward.

"Go!" Sakura cried.

The entire mass blurred before her eyes, disappearing into the safety of the dark hold.

"Kate, you're clear! Go!" Sakura radioed back.

"Sensors indicate you haven't boarded, yet," She replied,

"No, you need someone to cover you. Just go," She said, pulling herself out of the sewer and onto the boat docks.

"Affirmative. Be careful," Kate said simply before _Iron Maiden_ pulled away.

"I will."

Sakura waved to the massive ship, watching it pull away—taking massive chunks of the canal sides and docks with it—and rise slowly upwards and with that she leapt up onto the nearest roof and into the city.

* * *

Leon gave a victorious cry as he scored a shot on one of the orbs hovering around the massive battleship. Beside him, Tres was taking out as many as he could with two guns; his shots were perfect, the effects devastating. And with Vaclav, his cloaking system active, silently cutting his way through the ranks, they were taking out as many of ship's defenses as they could. Ultimately, however, it was the ship keeping them safe: the battle craft couldn't fire on them, as close as they were, without annihilating itself in the process and even its smallest guns were easy to dodge because of their sheer size and the slow speed they used.

"Where's Four-eyes?" He asked, leveling his bazooka and taking down an additional defense orb.

"He's bringing up the rear," Vaclav replied, appearing beside him.

Sure enough, there was Abel, firing rounds off as quickly as he could reload them.

"AX, _Iron Maiden_ is taking off. Requesting cover."

"We'll do what we can," Vaclav responded, activating his cloaking system again and sprinting back into the fray.

* * *

"Ah…so, the Vatican believed they could simply fly away into the sunset?" Isaak laughed to himself, centering his guns on the _Iron Maiden_. "War is the trade of kings." (1).

The orbs disengaged momentarily, a red light rising from the main cannon as the smaller guns swung into position.

* * *

Sakura pulled herself onto the next roof, flipping her legs into a better position. The red light of the main cannon fell on her, and even from a few miles down, she realized the absolute enormity of it. The edges of the destructive blast glowed purple as the machine powered up.

It was over…she realized…she had no chance of escape and no hope of saving _Iron Maiden_.

But she stared her death straight on, meeting its glowing red eyes with her own emerald green ones.

* * *

No one even heard the command that Abel muttered under his breath, they only saw the massive blast of electric blue energy that engulfed him and the sudden blur of black and red as he dove before the beam, brandishing the scythe.

It swung forward in a distortion of hazy crimson, a bolt of brilliant blue following the motion. The shockwave destroyed the orbs around the ship in a flash of red as they imploded, debris raining down into the streets below. The net of electricity surrounded the ship, diffusing the power grid in a massive blast. The sound of the beam losing power was audible over the din of the Crusnik's rampage.

* * *

Sakura saw the beam dim and fall away, a massive figure silhouetted against the dying light, its huge wings spread, a scythe held at his side.

Its image was impressive, lodging itself in her mind. And despite the intimidating physique and its sheer size, she knew it was there to help. Even miles back, too far to make out even the largest detail in his face and body, she knew. She knew the difference between mindless bloodlust and protectiveness. 

* * *

 

"Excellent work, Father Nightroad, as usual," The Professor stated as he returned to his Terran form.

The Father didn't respond as he marched into the wreckage, identified the destroyed cockpit, and rummaged through it until he found the barely conscious Isaak. Hauling him up, he threw him against a wall.

"I should have finished you when I had the chance," He told him. "I'm going to give you one chance to tell me what I want to know: Where is Contra Mundi?"

"He who is a friend to everyone, is a friend to no one," He replied, coughing up blood.

"Nano machine, Crusnik 02, Power Output: forty percent. Activate."

Isaak's shocked eyes glazed over the scythe's tip rammed into his thigh, slicing him open from there to the knee.

"Care to continue?" Abel hissed, his tongue running across his fangs.

Isaak growled back, straining against his hold. Abel smirked, his scythe running across his stomach, ripping his intestines apart and lacerating the pulsing internal organs beneath.

"I don't know!" He cried finally, blood spilling from his mouth.

"Are you certain?" Abel asked, drawing his arm back.

"Yes!" He cried, "He runs Rosenkruez from outside of the Order!"

Abel nodded, his eyes flashing as his scythe came down, cleaving the Methuselah in half. The blood ran back into him, spiraling around him in crimson arcs until there was only the hollow, dry, brittle shell of the Methuselah left crinkling against the cobblestone.

He had just shifted back when Sakura turned the corner, sliding on the stones.

"Is everyone alright?!" She demanded.

"Damage reports indicate there are no significant injuries among the members of AX," Tres replied, snapping an extra clip into his gun.

"Good." She breathed.

"And the Methuselah representatives?" Abel asked.

"Evacuated on _Iron Maiden,_ " She replied.

"Excellent," The Professor remarked.

Abel smiled at her, his cerulean eyes kind but somehow troubled; but she knew it wasn't her place to ask, and she didn't.

"We had best move out; Duchess Milan has just ordered us to return to the Vatican for a damage assessment report," Vaclav said, his ear piece crackling faintly.

The news, Abel knew well before they ever sat down, was poor. The Orden made a show only when Dietrich got too far out of line or when it was to cover something else. The media storm was already a problem. There were accusations that the Church had been loose in their defensive measures and rumors they were outright complicit in the assaults. The New Human Empire had released a clipped statement of support for the Vatican. More classified reports indicated that a number of Fleur de Mal associates had escaped confinement in the assault. Thirty two people had been killed in vampire attacks. More in the bombing of the city. 

"They could be trying to wear us down. None of these assaults seem to have been all or nothing wagers," The Professor offered as he turned off the TV. 

"They could still just be desperate," Leon shrugged. 

"There's an old war tactic I learned about," Sakura said. "A multi-layered attack designed to depress morale and destabilize political parties. But I've never heard of it being used on recent alliances." 

"You have strategies training?" The Professor asked. Certainly her studies hadn't covered that, yet. 

"Some." 

"From whom?" 

Iruka's name stuck in her throat like a sob she couldn't bear to let loose. "An old friend." 

The Professor held her gaze for a moment. He nodded and continued speaking. 

"For the time being, we'll account for lost political enemies and try to track them to suspicious transactions. Rome has already provided Albion with the necessary medical technology and personnel to see them through this crisis. We should focus on trying to avert the next one." 

_**TBC** _

John Dryden stated, "War is the trade of Kings".


	6. Children of the Night

_**Chapter Six: Children of the Night** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood.** _

"There were only three hundred deaths, most of them civilian in nature," Tres told her, his eyes shining a faint red as he pulled up the specs. They were likely to change a little. Critical patients might still pass and some more bodies might be found. The records would be updated again. It had only been three days. 

"Unfortunate, but unavoidable," Caterina replied. "If not for the AX team, I fear Albion would not have survived at all. You have my thanks, all of you."

"It was our pleasure," Vaclav assured her.

"You are dismissed; Father Nightroad, Sister Sakura, if I might speak to you privately for a moment," The Duchess of Milan replied with a kind nod to her old friend.

There was a brief shuffle and the click of the door closing behind them before the Cardinal turned to them, an elaborate embossed cream white envelope etched in silver in her slender hand.

"The Empress was quite impressed by you, Sister. She requested your presence, and that of Father Nightroad, in the Empire two nights from now for a formal gala she is hosting. "

"I didn't do much," Sakura replied.

"Nonsense: without you, the Methuselah representatives might not have survived the attack. And your skills in coordinating the airlift were first-class," The attractive blonde replied.

"But Father Nightroad issued the order."

"And you followed through brilliantly," He replied.

She blushed, averting her eyes and accepting the letter from the Cardinal, who also passed a large white bag to her.

"This is your stipend for the event," She said with a smile.

"I'm sorry?" Sakura asked.

"If this goes well, it could be the beginning of favorable relations with the Empire-following that train of thought, the church is able to compensate you for expenses such as clothes, travel, and recreation when you're in the Empire."

"Unofficially, I want you two to enjoy yourselves. Officially, I expect you to make a good impression." 

* * *

Sakura, having set out several hours earlier to find a dress, found herself hopelessly lost in the city around the Vatican. All the streets looked the same, and every corner had a landmark-making all of them useless in her attempts to navigate. She was so frustrated she was just about ready to sit down and cry on the next water fountain rim when she ran into Abel.

"Oh, hello, there!" He said brightly, flashing an ice cream cone.

At that point, she was so upset she couldn't do much more than wave back. 

"You look troubled." 

"Lost. I don't own a dress and don't know where to buy one."

"Is that all?" He asked, motioning for her to follow. "There are dozens of stores around here."

 

He stopped at a cart and bought her a shaved ice concoction. She expected it to take like red bean and was disappointed with the cherry that coated her tongue. A time for all things, she reminded herself. She could mourn later. 

He left her at a dress shop and went off for a fitting in the adjacent shop-with his height and build it was a necessity more than a luxury-while she began to flip through the racks of dresses. The first rows she ignored completely for their color: yellow. With her hair and eyes, those shades were sure to make her look sickly. She also ignored anything in green, orange, or purple. Following with that tact, she quickly limited her selections to white or red. And then she found it-the most beautiful dress she had ever seen: It was floor-length with a small train that was fitted around the entire length of her body and wrapped counter clockwise around her frame. It was strapless with a small dip in the neckline that revealed just the right amount of her modest cleavage. It was made with a creamy white silk that had delicate silvery patterns woven into the fabric in abstract designs that were invisible until the light struck them properly. She paired it with white heels and a necklace, paid the sum in silver dinars and sat by a fountain to watch the sunset. 

"How did it go?" Abel asked when he stepped from the nearby shop twenty minutes after she did. 

"Great," She smiled back, "You?"

"As well as can be expected," He smiled back, walking with her down the street. Being measured felt too much like being tested. The measuring tape was too similar to the awful bands they used to wrap around him to monitor his heart. 

"When do we leave?" She asked.

"Late tonight. It's a bit of a ways to the Empire," He replied with a sigh; he didn't sleep well on trains, she knew. I seemed to be a bit more than that. Then again, it might have been exhaustion: they hadn't slept in more than three days between the Council meetings, the sudden air raid, and the call to return to base.

"Well, then we better hurry back to pack and get some dinner," She smiled, trying hard to be cheerful.

"Oh, I forgot…Sister Kate is responsible for dinner tonight!" He stated, clapping happily.

Sakura briefly wondered how a hologram could prepare dinner, but decided not to question it. Three blocks, two missing IDs, one save by Father Vaclav, two half hearted lectures from Caterina, and one frantic race to pack a bag later, they were sitting at the deserted dinner tables, eating chicken soup with dumplings, salad, bread, and chocolate cake for dessert.

Shortly afterwards, they were on the train, the sun setting low behind them, bathing them in an orange light.

"Master…"

"Yes?" He asked.

"I'm not sure how comfortable I feel in a room of predators in a dress…" She said carefully.

"I'm sorry your first experience with them had to be so bloody. Many really are very good people," He told her, smiling.

She nodded back at him absently, laying her head against the window and letting the passing scenery lull her to sleep.

* * *

She woke up with a start sometime later that night, the moon high in the sky and the stars twinkling brightly. She looked over, expecting to see Abel and slightly nervous to find him missing in figurative action. Rising from her seat, she stepped into the hall, checking both aisles for any sign of him. Finding now, she wondered down the left one, wondering where exactly he had gotten too. She checked the other cabins, only once finding another person on the train. It seemed unusual, but she didn't imagine too many humans _wanted_ to get to the Empire. She looked up and down the entire length of the train, panic rising in the back of her throat.

_You've lost him now, too. You're worthless. He knows it._

She had just gotten back to their own cabin when the train jarred sharply, throwing her back against someone.

"Watch your step," He said with a measure of amusement.

"Master!" She cried, turning and hugging him.

A flood of memories rolled over her. Late nights when Tsunade surprised her with coffee. Early mornings when she thought she was alone only to learn Kakashi had been watching. Never alone...At least, she hadn't been. Not before  _it._

"Did something happen?" He asked.

"No," She replied, not wanting him to know she had nightmares and finding no excuse for her sudden gratitude in finding him.

"Well then…I'm glad to see you, too," He said, patting her back reassuringly before taking his seat.

"Where were you?" She asked.

"Speaking with the conductor," He responded.

"I see," She said quietly, lying back against the seat.

"Are you certain you're feeling alright?" He asked.

"Yeah…just a little…tired," She replied, closing her eyes again.

* * *

She woke up at dusk, an orangey-purple light filtering in through her window. She gasped, shocked she had slept so long.

"How?" She lamented quietly, her red-hot face buried in her hands.

"What is?" Abel asked from over the edge of his book.

"How long did I sleep? It should be morning."

"What? Oh, I see," He said with the realization, "No, it _is_  morning. You see, Methuselah can't tolerate UV radiation. To make a diurnal life possible for them, this entire place is covered in an ion shield. The lighting is an effect of the particles in the air that filter the sunlight."

Now she was embarrassed that she hadn't come to a similar realization sooner. Tsunade taught her better. She should have been more logical. More observant. She should have thought harder. 

"I had a similar reaction my first time out here," He added. So many hundreds of years before...

She smiled at him, gathering her stuff as the train began to slow.

He smiled back, taking one of her bags from her and hauling his own up as the train lurched to a stop. They walked down the hall, through the open doors, and into the Empire's capital.

* * *

"There you are," Astha stated dryly as she spotted them on the platform.

"Greetings, Viscountess Odessa." 

She regarded Sakura with poorly concealed amusement. "Please. Astha is fine. I insist."

She waved them forward. "The Empress sent me to escort you to the Jade Palace." 

"Good. I don't think I can read the written language of the Empire," Abel told her awkwardly. 

It was a lie. Not a whole lie, though. He could. It took work. He had forgotten much of it when he had first left Augusta. He needed to forget back then. Sometimes he still did.  Astha sighed in exasperation before simply motioning for them to follow through the crowd.

"Stay close. Some Methuselah aren't very tolerant of Terrans this far in the Empire," She added.

* * *

The Palace was visible even before they were in the city, a giant green structure rising from the horizon and towering protectively over the city. And it stayed visible no matter where they went; no matter how many streets they wondered up and over or around. Eventually, they were shown directly into the Palace and given rooms in the Guest Wing in the center wheel of rooms.

"You who will be sharing a room with two beds. We're trying to accommodate a large number of guests. I hope this won't be a problem."

"Of course not," Sakura replied.

Astha smiled at her, opening the door and leaving them to their own devices.

It was a massive room with two canopy beds in white and green separated by a thin, opaque paper screen in an oriental design. The carpet was stark white, the rooms overlaid with colored glass in shimmering greens and covered in gold designs.

"Beautiful…" Sakura trailed off.

Shinobi had no need for expensive beauty. The Councils may have prided themselves on vain prettiness. But never shinobi. A shinobi only needed to be pretty when she needed to seduce her target. 

"The Empire is known for magnificence," He told her, setting his things down by the bed.

"I can see why," She replied.

"There's a bath to the left if you want to clean up first," He added as he began unpacking.

"Oh, thanks," She said, disappearing into it almost instantly-she didn't imagine she smelled too good after the train ride into the Empire. She stripped off her clothing quickly, discarding it off to the side and stepping into the marble tub. She flicked on the faucets, letting it fill with hot water, and began to scrub down.

It felt good to have a bar of soap and a sponge again; bathing at the Vatican was a bit of an all-out-race-for-the-showers-first-so-there-was-still-hot-water kind of thing. But here was free to take a few minutes to herself. In Konoha she and the nurses used to playfully fight for the rights to the showers while the water was still warm. She buried her face in the water before she could feel the tears. 

_Don't think. There'll be another time._

She shampooed her hair twice, scrubbing the grime and oil out before conditioning it. And when she was sure she was as clean as she could be in one sitting, she stepped out and wrapped a towel around her torso and proceeded to brush her hair out; standing there in front of the massive vanity, she felt almost glamorous, still flushed from the hot water with the transparent towel draped across her breasts. She had never thought of herself as pretty, definitely not when she was standing next to curvaceous Tsunade and gorgeous Ino. And she felt even less feminine in the company of female vampires, who were living seduction and sensuality. But alone in the bathroom, she felt…desirable. She blushed. Desirable only mattered when she had a target. Kate had tried to defend her honor without realizing Sakura had sacrificed it for her village years before. She knew the darkest desires of men. It had been necessary to seduce them...to kill them. 

Throwing her wet hair over her shoulder, she slid into a bathrobe, secured it at the waist with the band, and slid her feet into a pair of slippers.

Abel wasn't in the room when she got back. It was a unsettling when he disappeared without a word. Too much like the ghosts in her head. 

* * *

It wasn't until an hour before they were supposed to attend dinner with the Empress that she began to get truly worried about him; thankfully, that was about the time he made his appearance. He apologized for his tardiness, bathed quickly, and dressed. While he was in the shower, she dressed herself, slipping into the sheath of the dress and zippering it up her back. She strapped the heels on and clipped the choker around her throat. She arranged her hair in a fan at the back of her head, clipping it up with an intricate clip in metallic gold. Her bangs she curled under gently, brushing them out so they fell attractively around her face. She smeared some gold eye shadow across her eyes and tinted her lips in a coral pink. She was inserting her pearl drop earrings into the piercings when Abel emerged in a suit: black with a creamy white shirt underneath, his hair secured in its usual black ribbon. He looked absolutely gorgeous…

"You look magnificent," He told her.

"I could say the same about you." 

He smiled back, opening the door for her with a comical bow and following after her.

* * *

Sakura was reminded exactly how ordinary Terrans were when she saw Astha step into the hall: The Methuselah warrior was dressed in a gown of blue silk the shimmered, a decorative corset laid over it with geometric cutouts the revealed the richness of the gown's design. Laced through the corset where chains of gold and topaz gems that fell to her thighs. The sleeves were off the shoulder, the corset rising over the bare flesh. Her arms were sheathed in a matching design of blue and white. An expanse of her chest was visible over the lacy neckline and highlighted by a large topaz gem that fell in the hollow of her throat. Her blonde hair had been parted, the upper half arranged in a complicated bun, the lower half braided in small sections and wrapped in silk. On her head was a lovely hat in blue silk with a sophisticated touch of gems and a single feather. Abel seemed oblivious, greeting her the way he normally would have if she was simply in her trench and jeans.

"You look lovely, Sakura," Astha told her after her traditional, but playful lecture, of Abel's lack of formality.

"Not nearly as lovely as you," Sakura responded with a good-natured smile.

"Nonsense. Simplicity is its own beauty," She said, taking a seat and motioning for them to join her.

"When's dinner?" Abel asked, his stomach growling.

"Soon," She replied with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. It was a feat only the Duchess of Kiev could pull. And sure enough that was when the waiters began to lay food down for them. Abel began immediately, as did several court nobles despite the fact the head of the table was empty.

"What about the Empress?" Sakura whispered.

"Edict dictates that a meal be eaten as it's served regardless of the attendance at that point," Astha replied quietly. "As a show of respect for the time, effort, and finances put into its creation."

She had memorized Albion's etiquette: Never eat before the Queen begins and do not continue once she parts. But there was so little research into the inner workings of the Empire's court. Sakura nodded gently before beginning on her bowl of soup along with the Duchess.

"It's the end of the world…" Astha said dryly a moment later, "Father Nightroad using basic table manners."

Sakura suppressed a snicker; he was quite the messy eater. Tonight he was behaving himself. He might have liked ramen, the casual ease around eating it. Naruto had. 

Dinner passed in a similar sequence, most of her conversation staying with the Duchess Kiev. The banquet lasted about two hours, after which they were shown into a massive ballroom with dozens of balconies in place of windows that overlooked the moonlit gardens. For the most part, Sakura stayed to the side, sipping at some water and watching Astha and Abel be courted for dances. She suffered some rather nasty comments on her breeding; or at least she did until a nobleman approached her.

"Such radiant beauty," He remarked, taking her hand and pressing his lips dryly against her skin.

"Thank you…" She stuttered dumbly. 

A kunoichi knew lust. Not her own, perhaps, but the lust of others. She could turn desire into a weapon. This, though, wasn't a mission and she wasn't a sweet trap with a razor edge. She was an emissary. And it was her job to play nicely. She was a chess piece of the Vatican. She was to use her manners, be clean, be prompt, be respectful, exchange pretty words...Her job was to put on a good show. 

"May I have the pleasure of a dance?" He asked sensuously, his lips brushing against her ear as he leaned in.

"Of course," She replied, setting her class absently on a passing tray and letting him take her hand and lead her onto the floor.

His hand came across her hip, his other hand taking her's and leading her in a waltz.

"I do hope you've enjoyed tonight," He said, smiling at her seductively.

"I did. It was so kind of the Empire to host us," She assured him.

"Excellent. With beauties like you in Rome, I'm quite sure we'll be hosting more. None of them, I think, will compare to you," He replied.

He spun her fluidly, his arm coming across her hips from behind to catch her before her righted her and swayed against her. She sensed his sexual desire waning with the music. She sensed a passing fancy. She was a novelty to him. It was a role she could play. There was no expectation. The song was coming to an end now, and he excused himself with a bow and another kiss on her hand.

Feeling slightly dizzy with the blue opium incense they loved so much, she excused herself to a balcony. That was where Abel found her a moment later.

"You look tired," He commented, brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes.

"A little," She admitted. It was hard to play pretend. She was a weapon. Not a toy. 

"Well, most of them should be retiring soon. The Empress sent a message a few minutes ago apologizing for her absence," He told her.

"I hope everything's alright," She replied, feeling slightly queasy with worry.

"Oh, yes, she just had some business with Albion tonight; which would explain the queen's absence, as well."

"That's a relief." 

A breeze came up, chilling her sweat-damp skin and she shivered involuntarily, her arms coming over her chest to cover the bare expanse of skin. He said nothing; he slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Let's get back inside," He said, his arm coming around her shoulders to shield her from the wind.

From there, he said good-night to Astha, who smirked knowingly at Sakura and with such intensity she had to look away, and led Sakura back up to the room.

* * *

Sakura sat on the bed, lying back but letting her legs dangle over the edge, lacking the immediate energy to slip off her shoes and not wanting to dirty the sheets. Abel, smiling gently at her, told her he would be back; he wanted some milk tea. He said he'd bring her some as well, to warm her up. She smiled back faintly as he walked back into the hall, the door clicking behind him; she sighed happily, pulling his jacket close to her face to inhale his scent: musky and somehow like autumn but crisp like the air after a snowfall, befitting, she guessed, of his eyes and hair. Kiba, once on a mission far from home that had gone poorly, had told her that he knew a person by the way they smelled. She had asked him what that meant for her. He hadn't been able to tell her. 

She buried her face against the cloth, breathing as deeply as she could, trying to memorize his aroma. There was the faint smell of, not unpleasantly, either, his sweat, and something faker, like cologne. 

_Find two things you can smell. Don't think. One day you'll be able to. Not now._

The door opened with a faint creak and Abel stepped in balancing a silver tray with a tea pots, cups, and quite a bit of sugar. He sat down next to her, passing a cup to her as she shifted into a better position on the pillows.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem," He replied, mixing in five cubes of sugar at a time.

Sakura smiled as she stirred three of the delicate white cubes into her own tea before sipping at it.

"You made an excellent impression tonight with several of the nobles," He told her. "I haven't seen Astha that impressed with a human in a very long time. And I've never seen a noble that infatuated with a Vatican representative."

"You had just as much luck with the female Methuselah," Sakura replied teasingly.

"Oh…that…" He laughed.

They were all so vapid compared to Lilith. He didn't begrudge them that. Seth had worked so hard to give them a chance to be vain and pretty and careless. 

She giggled back, setting the cup down on her nightstand.

"Well, we do have to leave early tomorrow. So it's probably best we get some sleep," He said with a warm smile as he turned down the lights.

She nodded faintly at him, curling up against his jacket as sleep took her. She had no nightmares. 

TBC


	7. Encounters

_**Chapter Seven: Encounters** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood!** _

Sakura crept along the destroyed floor of the building, her gun held at the ready, barrel down in front of her. There was so much blood on the floor that she knew that, Methuselah or not, the victim was undoubtedly beyond help. She swallowed hard as she followed the trail, peering around the corner the gory slick ran around. She winced at the sight; there was nothing left of the unfortunate person, just a mass of scarlet fountains spattered across the wall. She slid along the wall quietly, trying to avoid tracking blood as she stepped into the room. What ever had happened there, it had been violent and fast: the walls were cracked so badly in some places the moonlight shone through, the tile was a mass of spidery cracks and fractures and the ceiling, once beautifully painted, was a massive spray of crimson. 

She lowered her gun, scanning the room and finding no hostile presence. It had been a long month. So many small churches had had their clergy and assistants murdered in the night. And they were no closer to finding the source. Something tickled her hand. She flicked it away. It was only then that her wrists were cupped over her head by a mass of fine wires.

"What the…!" She cried out as she was hauled painfully off her feet.

"Now then, let's have some silence, shall we?" A male voice asked, giving way to a slender adolescent male who was, still, without a doubt the most beautiful man Sakura had even seen…and he still radiated the worst bloodlust she had ever encountered. And with his words, a razor sharp line fell across her throat.

"You slimy piece of shit," She hissed, straining against her bonds, the memory of their first encounter fresh.

"So beautiful...you'd be lovely strung up on my wall," He responded.

"Release me."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, my Lord desires to speak with you," He replied, moving aside with great grandeur to reveal another male; he was tall with layered blonde hair, red clothing, a slender figure and startling eyes.

He smiled at her appraisingly and Sakura's blood ran cold in her veins.

"My name is Cain," He told her simply as he inspected her. "And the Contra Mundi."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat; ' _My Lord Against the World…'_

She fought even harder against the lines, lacerating her wrists. And suddenly his hand was around them, restraining her completely with one grip. 

"Stop," He smiled, pressing closer. "I don't like seeing you bleed."

Her breath hitched in her throat again as his free palm came to rest against her abdomen. But it slowly moved off to the side, just past her…a massive hole exploded in the stone structure.

"I'm going to tell you this once," He smiled. "There will come a time when you are necessary to the destruction of Terrans. And if you want to see your loved ones survive at all, you'll do as I say. And here is my first order: I was never here."

She was drowning in blood again. Swimming in screams. They were dying. All of them. Shizune was weeping and then bleeding. She imagined the same end, looping, again and again and again, for Abel and Caterina...for Kate and Vaclav and the Professor. She nodded numbly, trembling as the lines were finally loosened and she was dropped on the floor. By the time her head had snapped back up, they were both gone. But Abel was there, blinking in shock as his eyes fell across the wounds in her wrists.

"What happened?" He demanded, sprinting to her side.

"I…I…I…." She couldn't think of a single excuse that wouldn't contradict Cain's orders and put Abel in jeopardy.

He stared into her eyes, demanding an answer she couldn't give.

"Blood loss…" He sighed, tearing several strips from his jacket and binding her wrists before looping his arms around her carrying her out.

Seeing an out, she just laid weakly in his arms, her nausea very real. The anger came next. Then the sadness. Soon, she simply demanded to be put down and asked him to go ahead, saying she wanted to heal herself in private. He didn't like it, but he complied with a nod. She stood there for several seconds, her hands glowing a faint green before she started after him. She hadn't even taken ten steps when something flickered in her peripheral vision and she turned sharply on the intrusion in time to see a shock of blonde hair disappear behind a gravestone. She stumbled back in horror, colliding lightly with Abel, who caught her shoulders.

The shock of his touch was enough for her to emit a small yelp and pull back.

"Are you alright?" He asked with a goofy smile, bending to meet her eyes.

"Uh…yeah…" She replied distractedly with a fake smile.

"Then let's get going," Abel replied with a lopsided smile.

Sakura nodded…more to Cain, who she knew was watching, and warning, her and continued after them.

* * *

"I'm sorry this investigation is dragging so slowly," Kate stated mildly as Sakura cleaned the dried blood from her wrists.

"Nothing to be done. We have to keep going," The kunoichi told her. 

Sakura's attempt at wit was satisfied with a smile on Kate's part, but all too quickly it fell from her face.

"Is everything alright, Sister? You seem…distant today."

"Of course."

"You know you can talk to someone, if it's not. That's what we're here for."

"I know," Sakura replied, standing and leaving.

* * *

Hours later as they entered the Vatican, she realized her skin was crawling. Her emotions were going to eat her alive. There was too much happening. She couldn't pinpoint only five things, or hear only three things. She was overwhelmed with smell and taste. Impulsively, she tore at her hair with her nails until they came again tinged with blood.

A medic wasn't supposed to crack. Ever. It was too detrimental for everyone around them. The medic was there to  _fix_ things. And she didn't know how to fix herself. She wished Tsunade was around the corner as she had been for most of her life, the life that began when she decided she was done being the weakest link, and could help her. But that life was gone. Old old Sakura, the Sakura from before, died when Sasuke left his village to train with Orochimaru. Old Sakura died that bloody night in Konoha, less than a year before. A third life was too much to ask for. But death didn't appear ready to claim her. And, like a coward, she couldn't bear to slit her own wrists. 

It didn't occur to her until she was back in her room that there might be someone who could help her.

She was so desperate she didn't even realize what had happened until she was outside of Caterina's door, knocking franticly. And she was so quickly to answer, the kunoichi didn't know what to do but let loose the tears behind her eyes. 

"Goodness," Caterina stated mildly, leading the girl into her office and pouring her a cup of tea. "What happened?"

"He just frustrates me so much!" She huffed. 

That wasn't true. Or, at least, in that moment it wasn't true. But she couldn't tell Caterina the truth. 

"Who?"

"Abel-san."

Shinobi lied. They lied to each other, to others, to themselves. They had to. The truth would destroy them. 

"Father Nightroad? How so?"

"He…" She paused, not sure even what she meant, "He's so oblivious and clueless and he's confusing and he just makes me so angry!" She blurted.

"Well, you see, Father Nightroad can be a bit of a…well, a featherbrain, in all honesty. But he means well."

"I know but it's absolutely…"

"Infuriating?" Caterina stated with an incline of her slender eyebrow. "I know."

"How do you stand it?"

"For the most part? I ignore it."

Sakura bleated a wordless response in silent defeat.

"I'm sorry…I don't know what's wrong with me…"

"Wrong? There's nothing wrong with you," Caterina assured her. "I'd be alarmed if you had no qualm with him. He's a difficult partner." 

It wasn't about Abel. It was about Naruto. And Sasuke. All the others she had lost and would lose. She couldn't say it. The words tasted like vomit. 

* * *

After Sakura retired to her quarters, Caterina made a note to separate them for a while; besides, she had meant to sent Sakura on missions with other AX members already-to let her gauge their abilities and vice versa. They would need this information for later missions and the sooner it happened the better it was for everyone. Still…it was quite reminiscent of their Esther not long back and her first spat with Abel.

* * *

It was later the next evening that she was given her first assignment with someone aside from Abel, who had thus far been her only field mentor. This time, however, it was to be Hugue and Tres; an unusual combination by any standard. It was a simple mission: they were to investigate mysterious murders in the Kingdom of Albion and return to base with whatever intelligence they managed to collect. They were strongly advised not to engage the enemy, but had permission to do so, if necessary.

Sakura, upon the conclusion of the briefing, simply nodded and turned away, ready to board _Iron Maiden_ ; which would take them to Albion under the cover of night.

* * *

Sister Kate, with her expert skills in covert drop, had them in Albion within a few hours and was finishing her briefing with them.

"Remember, I'll be standing by if you need assistance."

"Positive," Tres replied.

Hugue nodded vaguely beneath his hood, polishing the hilt of his katana.

Sakura smiled up at her in a silent apology as a set of bars dropped into place above them. They stood, grasping them as a second set fell into place behind them and the bay doors opened.

"Be careful," Kate added before the bars released, flinging them onto the nearest roof as _Iron_ _Maiden_ faded back into the cover of night.

Sakura slid to halt easily, Tres' weight pulling him to a stop as Father Hugue rolled to his feet.

"Let's split up and search the city. Report back here in two hours," Hugue said, disappearing into the nearest ally.

"Positive," Tres stated, leaping onto the next rooftop as Sakura dropped into the main street.

Sakura, trying her best to call and repel attention to herself, wandered along the streets, taking note of the happenings; a woman passing by with some groceries, a couple making out on a bench, and a large dog rummaging around in a nearby alley. She was just wondering if this mission had a point when the dog growled at her, approaching, his hackles raised. Then she realized its sheer size and knew it wasn't a dog… it was a werewolf. Her hand snapped up automatically, a dagger flying from her grip as she leapt back. It dodged right, coming at her in a flurry of claws and teeth. Her training escaped her. All of the studying she had done on them was useless. 

_Just like you..._

She flipped back, spinning over him and ramming a dagger into its haunches. It turned on her, the force of its reel sending her flying against a nearby wall. The blow knocked the air from her lungs, leaving her gasping for breath against the concrete wall as he converged on her.

"Guderian, stand down."

She curled up instinctively against herself, her breath catching in her throat as she pushed herself against the wall.

"So, we meet again?" Cain asked with a smile as he knelt down beside her, trailing his slender fingers across her sculpted jaw bone.

She felt the tears gather in her eyes, spilling over her bloodless cheeks. Her breath came in ragged, sobbing gasps. No one…not even Orochimaru could induce this heart-stopping, paralyzing fear that consumed her: It was those eyes…so innocently happy as he took lives, destroyed nations, and waged a private war that threatened to consume them all. Her stomach turned at his touch, bile flooding the back of her throat bitterly as she pressed herself even further against the wall. His free hand tore the collar of her shirt, exposing a triangle of supple, firm flesh. His lips came to the line of her breasts, lapping at them as his other hand slid along her inner thigh.

"I find you…interesting," He told her, breathing hotly against her ear. "You're like Albion. So impractical." 

She jerked out from under him, her body spreading across the ground with the sudden motion…she looked back.

He was gone…

Her breathing quickened in her chest and she found herself gasping for several seconds, holding herself and rubbing her arms as if she could scrub away the chill creeping under her skin. The kunochi turned to her side, vomiting the contents of her stomach onto the cold, wet cobblestone a moment later. The retching left her so exhausted, it was all she could do to simply lay there for a moment and wait for the dizziness to pass, images of him flashing by her star-filled eyes.

She didn't know how long she laid there, only that Hugue eventually found her.

"What happened?" He asked, hovering over her.

She didn't respond, turning her head away from him.

"Subject is unresponsive," Tres added unnecessarily, appearing on her other side.

She rolled onto her side, pushing herself up on her arms and standing unsteadily before proceeding down the street. She stumbled into the nearest telephone booth, sliding several coins into the slot without bothering to count them, and dialing the number she knew by heart.

It rang several times before a familiar voice finally answered, "Vatican Special Deputy Enforcer Abel Nightroad speaking."

"Abel-san…" She trailed off.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" He asked, recognizing the exhaustion in her voice immediately.

"I don't think I'll be coming home. I just wanted to say…" What did she want to say? Thank you? For saving her life countless time and being her mentor? That wasn't it…no…she wanted to say something more personal…more intimate…to capture how she felt about him, when she was around him…"Thank you."

"Sakura? Where are you? I'll be there as quickly as I can."

She let the phone drop behind her, his voice cracking slightly as she walked away.

* * *

She couldn't be the lead that Contra Mundi used to find them and destroy them. If he had an interest in her, no matter how small, he would use it to destroy them completely from the inside out-he'd already proven himself a sadist and took pleasure in annihilating people from the inside out, in taking their souls and crushing them bit by bit in front of them.

No…she'd leave. Let him hunt her and her alone down…spare the others.

She tore off her com link, knowing it had a tracking device, and stowed it in a pile of garbage and laid her rosary cross down near the pile of trash, smoothing it over briefly with her fingertips to remember it. She took a dagger, cutting her hair back to a chin length bob, letting the cut locks fall around to the ground before she turned away. This time, they could watch her back as she walked away from them…but at the least, she did it out of love and not the senseless need for revenge or a misguided attempt to save a friend.Her fingers tightened around the kunai in her hand as she faded into the shadows.

* * *

Abel yelled into the phone for several minutes, begging her to respond before he simply dropped it and walked away.

He marched into Caterina's office, not bothering to knock or greet her with their usual formality-the show they put on for others around them despite their intimate knowledge of each other.

She smiled up at him, her eyes knowing.

"Please…I haven't broken my promise and I don't intent to…" He began.

"It's alright, Abel. I know you'll come home," She replied.

"Thank you," He told her, turning away.

"Abel," Caterina looked at him, her iron steel showing through her beautiful blue orbs, "Be safe." 

He nodded, the door clicking faintly behind him.

* * *

"This is _Iron Maiden_ to Sword Dancer and Gunslinger, report back immediately."

"What of Sister Sakura?" Hugue asked.

"Inconsequential. Return immediately." The words hurt Kate to say. 

"Very well," He replied.

* * *

She ran, her footsteps connecting against the ground and fading behind her into echoes.

And far behind her, the wind carried her severed pink locks away.

_**TBC** _


	8. The Hunt for Scarlet October

_**Chapter Eight: Hunt for Scarlet October** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or Naruto!** _

Sakura ran until she was sure not even Tres would be able to follow her trail; she actively upset her core body temperature, ensuring no logical heat trail would be left, she made false trails, changed the stride and length of her steps, varied the time she spent on the streets and on the roofs and even went so far as to alter the pattern of her fingerprints for the short time she would be in Albion. When at last she just couldn't run any further she collapsed against a wall, tears running down her face despite her best attempts to suppress them. She wondered vaguely if they would ever know why she ran…

She came to the conclusion they wouldn't. She might have been a fighter for them, a warrior in their ranks, but she had been a kunoichi first. She knew how to collect information from people and machines. She knew how to talk someone in circles and allow them to sputter something they shouldn't have in their confusion. She knew how to work a male, to get him to talk just by the sway of her hips, the incline of her eyes, the glisten of her lips.

_Her hands moved just a hair slower than her thoughts as she flipped through the manila folders, searching for anything she could get her hands on. In particular, past AX operations; successful or not, that might hold the information she desperately needed._

_Eventually, she came across it in the form of the first encounter former Sister Esther Blanchette had had with Abel Nightroad against the Count Gyula. To deactivate the weapon known as the Star of Sorrow, he had input a verbal command code with the words 'Mars' and numbers '666' in it. She found that rather odd and decided to pursue it._

_She really hadn't been ready for what she found-after weeks of searching, and in some cases sneaking information, she found herself in the library archives beneath the Vatican, where only the most ancient texts were kept._

_She found what she was looking for by accident…it was labeled simply Mars Project. At first, she thought it might be a book of old codes, or so the first fifty pages would suggest. But after that…_

_She couldn't imagine the pain he had gone through…the experiments…the betrayal…the wars…She sat down and wept right there, the book in her lap._

_She couldn't believe that Abel, her Abel, her savior, had been alive more than nine hundred years…in a way, she felt the same disturbing chill creep up her spine as she would have at the mention of Orochimaru's name, but she didn't feel the sickness that usually accompanied that sensation. But what did make her nauseous was the story behind Cain…his brother. And his former lover…Lilith Sahl…but of his sister, there was very little mentioned…Even Cain rated only a few lines. It really was mostly about Abel…well, up until he just disappeared…for nine hundred years…_

Sakura almost smiled to herself with the memory, with the sick and twisted irony of it. She really did want to know about him…but those were just facts…just a dead history left behind him. She wanted to know _him_ …why his eyes were always so…distant. Why, when he smiled, she didn't feel like smiling back, but like holding him.

_'I really am an idiot.'_ She told herself, her lips pulling up in a caricature of a smile.

With that, she stood up and began to make her way through the city. She had already seen _Iron_ _Maiden_ pull away. It was a little like saying good-bye to her home…She shook her head; no…she had already said good-bye when Konoha fell. She would go on alone. It was the only way. 

* * *

Abel cursed privately to himself as he found the source of the blinking red light on his tracking system; it was her com link, cleverly stowed in a dirty alley; he found her rosary, tangled in several strands of silky pink hair, beside it. The loss was so crushing and he felt it so deeply, he wanted to sit down and scream to his God above and demand an answer and yell until He gave one; but his energy was better spent elsewhere…in finding her.

* * *

Sakura ate the last apple she had carried with her when she fled three days earlier. She would have to find work soon if she wanted to survive at all even in the progressive Kingdom of Albion. But she didn't know anything…all her time and effort following her evacuation had been devoted to learning the trade of an AX member; now it was coming back to bite her. She didn't know how to be a civilian. She knew how to be a killer. 

* * *

Esther was shocked to find an exhausted, disheveled Abel Nightroad requesting an audience with her. But she was so happy to see him it was all she could do to maintain her composure and silently nod while he was shown into her office.

"Father Nightroad…it's so good to see you," She said privately a moment later.

"The same to you," He replied with a warm smile.

"What brings you to Albion?" She asked.

"I need your help."

Her eyes widened; he never asked anything from her, so it must be of dire importance. She owed him a debt she could never repay, but if it was in her power to help him, she would without a moment's hesitation.

* * *

Sakura wandered around the streets, feeling lost in several degrees; she had no home, no purpose or profession, nothing…The overwhelming sense of defeat was almost more than she could take and for a brief instant she thought about how easy it would be to end it…she had the knowledge, the know-how and the energy to do it painlessly and quickly…

She shook her head furiously, hating herself for her moment of weakness and hating herself for hating herself…

Her arms came around herself as her tears fell from her face, splashing across her chest. Kakashi would have known what to say. Ino would have been able to goad her into getting up. But they were dead. 

And she wished she were, too. 

* * *

"Thank you, Esther. I can never repay you," Abel told her.

"I owe you a lot, Father Nightroad. Please consider the scales tipped in your favor."

He smiled, leaving the room as she went back to her business.

* * *

The rain was coming down again, drenching her as she stared up into the bleak and starless night. Her thin clothing could hardly compete with the sudden changes in weather. Her bluing lips turned up in a caricature of a smile at the unending bad luck that had been trailing her.

"What is a beautiful young woman such as yourself doing out on a night like this?"

It wasn't the comment that struck her as much as the sincerity in the voice; he wasn't trying to coerce her into a one night stand or domineer her for laughs. He was honest. She wanted to laugh at her eternal bad luck. 

She looked over, her eyes meeting those of a handsome blonde in a suit. He carried no umbrella despite the weather and looked utterly at ease despite the dark night.

"I…I don't know…" She replied.

"Well, that's no way to get ahead in life," He told her as he shrugged off his jacket and folded in around her shoulders.

"I hope you don't mind, I am a Methuselah. But if that doesn't bother you, I can offer you shelter," He told her.

She had no answer. He smiled her anyway. 

"Well then, come along."

She didn't even remember him leading her through the streets and into a massive underground city of an obviously higher technological background.

"What…is this…?" She asked.

"The Albion Ghetto, where all of the technology for this nation is produced and perfected," He replied.

"I…"

"There will be time for explanations after you've rested," He told her. "My name is Virgil. And in the name of Queen Esther, it's my pleasure to be your host."

She nodded, letting him lead her to a room inside of the structure. He helped her into the bed, removing her shoes and laying them off to the side for him. He rose, pulling a heavy blanket over her and leaving her to rest.

* * *

She woke up sometime the next morning feeling like a small piece of the Underworld unevenly warmed over. Her head throbbed painfully as she sat up, pulling the blanket around her shoulders.

"I see you're awake." Virgil said, stepping in with a tray of food.

She nodded shakily, massaging her head.

She didn't even know he moved until his wrist was pressed against her forehead, the tray having been set noiselessly on the stand next to her mattress.

"You're running quite the fever," He stated, sitting down next to her.

"Sorry…" She muttered.

"For being ill?" He asked with some amusement as he poured a cup of tea for her from the supplies on the tray, "No need to apologize."

She nodded, not even really listening anymore as he pressed the cup into her hands. Automatically, she brought it to her lips, drinking in the sweet, hot liquid. Tsunade had shown her how to reduce a fever. She couldn't remember the lesson now. Everything was slipping away. 

"Do you have someone you'd like me to contact?" He asked as he poured some soup from a thermos into a bowl, arranging it with a spoon on the tray itself.

"I have no home and no kin," She replied evenly.

"I'm sorry," He told her after a moment of silence.

She nodded distantly, mechanically consuming the food he handed her.

"If you wish, you may remain with us," He finally said.

"Thank you, but I should be on the move again very soon," She replied.

He didn't press her.

* * *

Abel took the bread she offered him almost grudgingly. And for someone with his appetite, she didn't know whether to be offended or worried. Despite herself, she fell more towards worry. It was so unbecoming of the soldier she was. 

"Father Nightroad..."

"I really should be back in the field," He replied waspishly, standing and exiting.

Mary sighed to herself; it was so unlike the priest to reject food…or to snap with so little provocation.

* * *

Virgil paced thoughtfully not far from the young woman, whose fever had spiked some time ago. As Methuselah, they didn't fall sick and had no need for medicine in the Ghetto. And Esther had been explicit in her orders. Offer aid, render it, but do not stop her. Abel would work on that. He decided against calling in for Terran aid and left her to rest as he continued his email to his Queen. 

* * *

"I see," Esther sighed as Mary told her of their current lack of progress.

"It is possible, My Queen, that she is no longer in Albion," Mary added.

"True…but have we exhausted all of our options?"

"I believe so, Your Majesty."

"Very well…" Esther sighed, providing no conclusive statement. Mary excused herself. She would speak to Abel on Esther's behalf. Esther was taking her lunch privately when a knock at the door interrupted the pouring of her tea. 

"M'Lady, a message for you from the Ghetto." 

Esther turned to the young man and accepted a print out. Her eyes passed down the paper. 

* * *

"Father Nightroad, I am sorry." Mary said. Another six hours passed fruitlessly.

"It's alright. Thank you for your assistance," He replied dryly.

Mary nodded sadly, watching as he walked away, radioing for pick-up. A soldier was an expensive commodity. It would hurt their operations to lose one. But Albion was a small kingdom. They were limited in their capacity to help. 

* * *

Abel sighed to himself, watching the sun set on the fifth day of their futile attempt.

"Father Nightroad, this is _Iron Maiden_ ; Lady Caterina has issued the following order on intel retrieved from Queen Esther. You are to speak to Virgil in the Albion Ghetto immediately."

"Very well," He replied, radioing into the Ghetto for permission to enter.

It was granted and he was back on his way.

* * *

"It's a pleasure to see you on more beneficial terms," Virgil told him, welcoming him personally into the underground city.

"Yes," He replied distantly.

"Now, what did you come to discuss?" Virgil asked.

"Lady Caterina was curious about a trade agreement. If she provides political standing for the Ghetto in the next Council, would you be willing to help in the redesigning of the _Iron Maiden II_?" Abel asked, reading from a dossier. 

"Certainly," Virgil responded, pulling up prints on the computer screen in front of him.

"Excellent," Abel replied unenthusiastically.

"I was however wondering, Father, if you could perhaps bring medical supplies on your next visit."

"Medical supplies? I didn't think Methuselah needed them." He responded with an amused smirk.

"We don't. But Terran guests do."

"I hope none in your current company are ill," Abel replied.

"One," Virgil said.

"I might be able to help. Would it be alright if I looked at him or her?"

Virgil, seeing no way they could be connected, nodded and stood up, showing him into the nearest room.

Abel cried out, running to her and dropping onto his knees as he tore of his glove, pressing his wrist to her forehead.

"Sakura…" He trailed off.

"You know her?"

Virgil never defied a direct order. But Esther's order never condemned reuniting the operative with her commander. And in human law, unconsciousness was treated as implied consent for medical care. He played the part for Abel's benefit. The Priest didn't need to know the depth of Albion's information network, however close he was to their Queen. 

"Yes," Abel replied, asking Virgil to find him a pan of cold water and a wash cloth.

* * *

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, taking in the rapidly blurring image of Abel hovering over her, his cerulean eyes worried. There was an overwhelming feeling of relief that flooded over her and a feeling of dread that settled in her stomach.

"Abel-san…"

"Shh," He smiled, pressing his finger gently against her lips. "It's alright now."

She smiled even as a tear ran down her fever-flushed cheek.

Virgil appeared behind him, carrying several supplies and the light shining in from the hall blinded her. Instinctively, her eyes closed, sleep taking her.

"Thank you," Abel said, taking the pan and various items from him.

"Will she be alright?' He asked.

"She should be," The Crusnik replied as he dipped the cloth into the pan, wringing it out with a sharp twist of his hands, and dabbing at her face.

"Good," Virgil replied, slipping back into the hall as the door close behind him.

Abel smiled at him even as his back turned, a silent thank you on his lips as he pulled the blanket down from her shoulders and gently wiped down her throat and wrists.

* * *

Sakura sat up, tearing the stifling covers off as she gasped for breath. Abel was there in an instant, his hands on her shoulders, supporting her as she caught her breath.

"Abel-san…" She trailed off.

"I'd like to know why you ran off." 

"I can't tell you," She replied before she could stop herself.

"Can't tell me?" He asked, obviously amused. "I'm your friend." 

She stammered unintelligibly.

He waited until she finally whispered, "It was the Contra Mundi."

His expression fell, replaced by a hatred and anger she never saw in him before. And she didn't even try to stop herself as she threw herself against him, her fingers grasping the cloth of his jacket.

"Please don't go."

"What?" He asked, shock ringing in his voice.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd go. And we won't make it without you."

"I wouldn't leave you."

She inhaled sharply, wondering if he meant just her or all of the Vatican.

"Silly," He teased, "He might be of special interest…but I have promises I have to keep."

She looked up into his eyes and saw no lie and felt respite bubble up in her chest.

"Are you ready to go home?" He asked.

She nodded, tears of joy running down her face, "More than ever."

_**TBC** _


	9. Containment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never seen mental illness as a weakness. PTSD, psychological trauma, depression and other disorders should all be treated with the same seriousness and compassion as physical ailments, like a broken arm. Part of what I wanted to write about when I decided to rewrite this was the idea that getting help is healthy and should be supported. I feel like people who seek out help are brave. It takes a lot of courage to open up to someone.

_**Chapter Nine: Containment** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or Naruto. I gain no profit from my work here.** _

 

Abel hummed to himself as they walked. For Sakura it felt more like a death march than a jaunt around the Ghetto. Shinobi often sought help to process the things they saw or did. Psychiatrists and psychologists made up the second largest division of the Medical Corps and were rivaled only by the emergency response teams. Sakura had never been, though. Not with the responsibilities at the hospital. Doctors and nurses gossiped. She felt it was too much a conflict of interest. The hospital staff needed to respect her authority without snickering about her crying over killing another nin. 

"Abel...this won't affect my ability to move forward with training, will it?" 

"Of course not." 

"And my running away?" 

Abel smiled without intending to do so: "Hardly the first time an operative needed a sabbatical. I've taken one without warning myself."

He pushed open the door. The office was sparsely set and that alone surprised her when she saw it was the Professor sitting opposite an empty chair. He motioned them in, poured two cups of tea, and asked her to sit. Abel waited for her to sit and accept the cup before he stepped back away. 

"I'll be back," Abel told her. 

He turned and closed the door behind him. Sakura fidgeted uncomfortably. 

"I know this can't be easy. Do you have anything you'd like to talk about?" 

"I...I don't want this to affect the way you see me during operations." 

"I understand. I have a great deal of training, Sister. What happens behind these doors goes to no one unless you become a threat to yourself. Even then, Lady Caterina does not receive the details of our session. Merely my recommendation." 

Sakura accepted his offer of a cream pitcher. 

"Can you tell me a little bit about why you opted to leave?" 

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I also didn't want to lie to anyone else." 

The words were ridiculous. Her entire career was built on lying. Lying to patients about whether or not they would be okay, lying to men about her intent, lying to her friends about being alright, lying to herself. 

"Who do you think would have been hurt?" 

"All of you." 

"Why did you feel the need to take that on by yourself?" 

"I felt like it had to be me." 

"Why?" William passed her a frilly white bit of paper that contained a single dark chocolate piece. 

Sakura accepted it, "You're all...well...you. A unit. A team." 

"Do you not feel like you're a part of that team?" 

Her throat clogged. "How could I hope to be?"

The Professor waited. She cleared her throat and said, "You all have so much history." 

"That doesn't mean there isn't room for you. We can build a new history that includes you." 

"I can't do that either." 

"Why?" 

She shook her head. 

"That's alright. We don't have to talk about everything in one session." 

"So...what do we do, then?" 

"This time is yours. We can talk about anything you'd like to. However mundane or profound." 

"Why did you come back? Why did any of you come back or stay to find me?" 

William didn't flinch at the anger in her voice. Anger was normal. To some degree it was healthy. 

"We're not in the business of leaving people behind." 

"You should have." 

"Oh?" 

"How much time and how many dinars did you spend on this stupidity? On finding me?" 

"We used exactly the number of resources it took. Not an hour less or a dinar more." 

"That doesn't answer my question." 

William smiled. "Would it matter what those numbers are? Would they change how you felt?" 

"Felt about what?" 

"Whatever you feel." 

Sakura sighed. She was already frustrated. William poured more tea into her cup. 

"Do you think perhaps a change in assignment would be useful? It hasn't been lost on myself or Kate that your healing abilities extend to more than yourself." 

"No." 

"Your intake interview stated you were the head of hospital." 

"I was. I just can't stand it. War ruined medicine for me. Nothing like a line of beds against a wall and the knowledge you can only save a few." 

"That must have been hard." 

She supplied the words herself: On her. They didn't know any better. Just the slip of a needle in their arm and a promise it would take the pain away. A massive overdose to ease them into the next life. She stopped counting after fifty-six in the third day of the battle. Too many faces, too many names to try and memorize. She envied Naruto and Sasuke. The bodies they piled up had never looked up at them and begged for them to just _fix_ it. The tents were a special hell. A hell where her chakra drained away too quickly no matter how she conserved it and where people died more often by her hand than the enemy's.

"I killed them. And I didn't feel bad about it. Not in the moment," She allowed.

William waited.

"They were going to die anyway. I made it quicker. I made it hurt less."  

The Professor nodded without so much as a flicker of emotion on his face. 

"I don't feel guilty about spilling Orden blood." 

"On some level, Church morality aside, I don't believe you should. They would kill again, more prolifically, if you spared them." 

He stood up and crossed the room. She heard his desk drawer slide open and click back into place a moment later. He sat back down and pushed a pad at her. 

"I know it's hard to talk. Talking is a learned skill. This week I want you to focus just on writing down what you feel or the thoughts that come to you." 

"And what then?" 

"This is a process. Nothing has to happen right now. Often times these things aren't linear progressions." 

She tucked the notepad in against her ribs. Something beeped. William opened his computer, glanced at the screen, and hummed. 

"It seems Rome is recalling us. Effective immediately." 

"Why?" 

"It would appear that The Empire has sustained an attack." 

Albion and The Empire in less than a month. She was quite sure The Empire had sustained few losses. Unlike Albion, they were well equipped to manage a sudden conflict. Their contentious nature with the Vatican all but guaranteed the necessity of it. The Orden was either desperate or bold. Neither boded particularly well for the AX. 

"We'll meet regularly. And my office is always open." 

"I appreciate it." 

They were boarded and en route to Rome within the hour. Sakura regretted she had so little time to thank Virgil. The furthest they had gotten was a hasty agreement they would meet again soon. She fell asleep in the carrier hold of  _Iron Maiden_ and dreamed about the droning of kunai slamming against bone. 

TBC

 

 

 


	10. Tidal Darkness

_**Chapter Nine: Tidal Darkness pt 1** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or Naruto.** _

Sakura was jarred hard and snapped awake. Beside her, Abel's face remained an unreadable mask. Then _Iron Maiden_ began to list to the side. Abel unsnapped his harness and stood. The ship was tossed back by a massive explosion. The blow was so fierce it spun the entire ship one hundred and eighty degrees. The hatched cracked open. The sudden release of pressure jerked them forward. Sakura slammed hard into the harness and Abel lost his feet with the sudden suction. The kunoichi narrowly managed to grab him.

"Kate! Report!" Abel shouted above the howling wind.

"We're under attack by Methuselah warships," She replied

 _Iron Maiden_ was spinning. The centripetal force pressed the kunoichi hard against the back of her chair. Abel kicked hard against the metal, trying to find purchase. The bones in Sakura's wrist creaked. The engine roared to life. _Iron Maiden_ leveled out sharply with a sudden jolt.

They cried out in mutual horror and rage: rising from the horizon was a black mass: waves of Death Hunters on foot, ships backed so densely in the sky they blotted out the sun, thousands of tanks and armored vehicles leading the charge. The city was on fire. Konoha flashed before the kunoichi's eyes. The cries of Roman citizens took on the voices of her dead. She screamed. Abel scrambled up, hooked his legs over the rails of the seat and pressed his hand against her cheek.

"Sakura, you're alright."

The howling of the wind and blaze of the fire all but drowned him out. He pressed his forehead against hers, "Sakura, it's alright. I need you to take a breath."

She clutched at him.

_1...2...3...4...5...This isn't Konoha. This isn't Konoha. Get a grip._

She released her grip on his jacket. He asked her, "Can you keep going?"

The kunoichi gave one resolute nod. Abel cupped his earpiece against the shrieking wind and said, "Sister Kate, return to the Vatican and immediately evacuate the Holy Council and Cabinet!"

"Father, we are the nearest battleship for several hours. If we flee, you'll be without air support!" She replied over the static interfering with the radio link they were using.

"We can't lose Caterina, Kate, or his Holiness. You must get them to safety," He added.

"Very well. Vatican forces have already been dispatched, along with the AX; but we are heavily out numbered and out gunned. Proceed with caution. We will request permission to evacuate to the Empire," Kate replied, briefing them quickly.

Sakura and Abel were up in the next instant, grabbing the massive blocky pressure cannons that dropped from the ceiling. Sighting the nearest tower, they leveled the cross-hairs and fired. Lines shot from the reel trailed a barbed tip that embedded itself in the concrete. Snapping the guns back into place above them, the grabbed the handles that popped free from the cannon and slid down the line from the ship onto the rooftops. They scrambled down the stairs and past the licking flames. The streets were chaos and flaming debris and burning blood. There were no survivors that Sakura could see, just charred corpses and bloodied Death Hunters.

"Father Nightroad!"

His cerulean eyes flickered down to Father Leon, sweaty and clearly exhausted, his chakrams hanging limply from his fingers.

"Leon! What happened?" He demanded.

"I'm not sure. We were firebombed by our own incoming ships. I don't know if they were overtaken between the Empire and here or if we have traitors in our ranks. We've put everything we have into guarding the Vatican," He huffed.

"Sister Kate is evacuating them as we speak," Abel assured him.

"Good…because we're not gonna last."

* * *

The Professor had just enough time to seal the hatch and shove a dresser up against the door. He could heard the heavy thud of Death Hunter boots stomping against the ground. He through himself against the door to bide them a few more precious seconds. Time for an escape pod being loaded onto _Iron Maiden_ to hit the main carrier. He was thrown backwards by the blow against the door. William shoved himself back against the wood. His cane, his only blade tucked within the wood, was already out of reach. And if he let up against the frantic pounding the dresser would certainly collapse and the door would give. Outside the door he heard frantic gunfire.

Tres reloaded automatically, his Genocide Mode already active, as he began to fire again; statistically speaking, he had the advantage in terms of his accuracy and speed. But his munitions wouldn't keep up with the never ending flow forever. Behind him, Kate was finishing evacuating the Vatican staff. He secured William's position and was already working on clearing the hallway.

"Father Tres!" She called.

"Proceed without me." He replied, snapping another clip into place and taking down three that managed to get in behind him somehow.

Kate nodded, disappearing back into the cyber system of the _Iron Maiden_.

* * *

Vaclav tore through the forces he could using his cloaking system as cover, but was forced to withdraw to rest; they had been at it for hours and he was not only out of ammo for his gun, but was low on the caloric energy it took to activate the mechanics in his body. And he had been separated from what little back-up he had had in the Vatican foot soldiers. He could only assume that when they broke in their panic, they were picked off one by one. But in all the blood chaos, even he might have once been tempted to break rank.

Vatican City was on fire. The screaming in the streets had stopped.

* * *

Sakura leveled her gun against the nearest attacker and prepared to fire only to have a cloud of debris slide between them. She flinched, pulling the trigger and the round went wild. An ax flew at her from the dust cloud. There was the roar of a pistol and the spark of metal meeting metal as Abel covered her from the side, turning in the same motion and taking down his own attacker. There was no time to thank him as the next wave swarmed off them. But at this point, their numbers were working against them: they had no room to wind back for a decent swing of their weapons and it was easy to dance around them, wait for them to get stuck in a compromised position, and take them down.

Leon took the shots he had, using munitions that were far too large for city combat, but it was all he had to work with. And at the least, he was taking down far more numbers than he would have been able to normally-and at the price of only a few historically important statues and buildings that dated back to Pre-Armageddon. It wasn't as though they could add to his sentence.

* * *

Kate pulled away unhindered well beyond the range of even the largest ships' main cannons; that was almost disconcerting; or would have been if she had had the time to think on the matter. Instead, she was busy radioing the Empire for permission to dock. Thankfully, it was granted along with a promise the Methuselah warships would join in the battle as soon as they could.

But even in _Iron Maiden_ , it was a twelve hour journey to the Empire…or from the Empire to them…

* * *

Sakura tossed the creature over her shoulder, snapping a high kick into the jaw of the one of her left. Spinning, she brought her fist, back-hand, against the face of the one of her right. Bouncing off of her heel, she imparted a scissor kick to the next one over. Her breath coming in ragged gasps, she turned to cover Abel, who was badly outnumbered and running low on ammo. Pressing herself against her back she asked, "What now?"

"We have to break and find some cover," He replied, snapping his last clip into his gun.

She nodded, rotating around him and snapping her leg up before bringing it down; the earth shattered beneath them and as it did, throwing up plumes of rubble and dust, she grabbed him and ran.

* * *

Vaclav took shelter in a destroyed Cathedral, trying to give his mechanical systems time to reboot from extended use. He was out of ammo and had no back-up weapon to use. They had been attacked so suddenly he had thought to bring a spare of anything.

Sighing, he stood and activated his cloaking system again.

* * *

Hugue was knocked back into William, both of them slamming against a destroyed statue base. William had lost Tres in a wave of Death Hunters that ripped up the middle of the Vatican. The blow was enough to stun the Professor and tear open the laceration along Hugue's hip. Tangled in each other's limbs, they had no hope of recovering in time to defend.

"DIE!"

There was a sudden flash of pink and a deafening blow that shattered the ground, sending Death Hunters flying; in the same motion, there was the glint of metal illuminated by the fires raging around them, each finding its mark. Sakura rose unsteadily on her feet, a mixed look of triumph and exhaustion in her eyes.

"Hugue-san, Professor-san, are you alright?" She asked.

"I believe so," William replied with a chuckle.

"Likewise," Hugue replied.

Sakura's eyes flickered to the bloody bandage around his hips. She knelt by him, a flickering green hand pressed against the flesh. The muscle was reluctant to knit. The blade that did the damage had been dulling, tearing the tissue instead of slicing it. The rough edges didn't want to pull together. Frustrated, she pressed the edges together with her free hand while weaving the muscles and skin together from the inside out. It left a nasty bruise she was unappreciative of. Her first priority, regardless, had to be the conservation of her chakra.

"It's going to be sore. I'm sorry," She told him.

"It's an improvement," He replied.

She inspect the Professor next. His shoulders were bruised but functional. She couldn't spare anymore chakra and she had no balms for it. He brushed her off before she could give him her assessment, insisting it was fine. She didn't like it. The images of the tents washed over her again. So many tiny wounds she couldn't deal with, so many lethal wounds she didn't have the reserves to heal. She forced the image away. This wasn't Konoha. These weren't the tents.

"We should split up. Try to maximize the number of survivors we can find and help," The Professor said.

* * *

Tres glided through the figurative field of Methuselah, mowing them down even faster than they could replace their fallen ranks. The ground ran red with their blood, tendrils feeding into rivers as he moved in their ballet, dancing to the death with them. Six civilians saved, four clerics redeemed into safety, two priests still to go.

* * *

Vaclav had long taken to using the fallen Death Hunters' weapons against them. It was the only option he had once his munitions had been exhausted; so he used spears, axes, lances, whatever he could get his hands on despite his lack of proficiency with several of them. It was bloody, brutal work and it wasn't how he wanted to work. But Death Hunters weren't alive, he reminded himself, not truly. If anything, he was sparing them their continued pathetic puppetry of a life by Dietrich's hand.

* * *

"You guys go on ahead." Abel stated suddenly as the ground started to shake.

"But…" Sakura began.

"Just go. I promise I'll catch up," He said with a smile.

She hesitated, nodding briefly before sprinting down the street behind Hugue and the Professor.

Abel's expression dropped, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "Nano machines, Crusnik 02; Power Output: forty percent. Activate." Power flooded through him, his scythe materializing in a blaze of light and blood. Electricity pulsed through his wings, the blood of the fallen _vampires_ around him spiraling around him in brilliant crimson arcs that fed into him. He ran his tongue over his fangs, savoring the blood feeding into him as his scarlet eyes fell on the next wave; his lips pulled up in a smirk, his scythe swinging forward.

* * *

Sakura didn't even see the ax until it was mere inches from her face. Instinctively, she pulled back, arching her spine in a flip that carried her ten feet back. She sprang back even further on her heels. The shinobi charged and slammed her fist through the Death Hunter's skull. She felt her chakra drain away. She had been careless, too angry. She was getting reckless.

_Get it together. Get a grip. Get a grip._

Hugue disassembled the next Death Hunter into several dozen pieces, each highlighted with the silver flash of his sword. Wet chunks hit the ground sickeningly.

"We need to stop and fortify one defensible location," The Professor stated, eyeing the corpses thoughtfully.

"Not without Abel-san," Sakura replied.

There was a sudden flash behind her and she turned, horrified to find it coming from the street they had just left. Where Abel was. Her legs pumped against the concrete.

"Sakura, no!" The Professor cried as she ran back down the street, oblivious to his plea.

Sakura rounded the corner only to dance back behind it; there was a magnificent figure standing there, black angel wings spread, his scythe dripping gore…and Abel nowhere to be found. But, as physically terrifying as he was, there was nothing else to suggest hostility. She knew the feeling of killing intent washing over her in icy waves. And he had none.

Biting back her fear, she stepped out, "My name is Haruno Sakura, Vatican Special Deputy Enforcer."

He turned, shock filtering through his lustrous red eyes, recognition flashed across his face...and horror. He tried to stumble away from her. He knew the words on her lips: Monster! MONSTER! And he wouldn't be able to blame her. He _was_ a monster. Her arms would around him. She was holding him.

"Abel-san…" Sakura trailed off, her lips pulling up into a smile.

He hesitated…no one had ever looked at him without fear before…not even Caterina…And then his arm came across her. His black nails were a sharp contrast to the pink hair beneath them.

"I was so worried," She whispered.

"You didn't need to be," He assured her.

A familiar hiss rose from behind her, Abel's head snapping up and his scythe coming protectively around her. She glanced over to see literally hundreds of glowing red eyes in the darkness behind her. He looked down at her, knowing he could annihilate the forces before him but not without risking her.

He inhaled sharply as her hand slid into his, squeezing slightly, "Do what you have to."

She smiled at him, slipped her hand free, and ran in the opposite direction. She felt the prickle of electricity dance up the back of her neck.

* * *

Hugue and the Professor had been forced to move on but had been separated not more than three streets down and forced apart even further as wave after wave of Death Hunters flooded the street. William had no clue even where he really was; very disconcerting considered he'd lived there all his life…but with all the rubble, fires, and the desperate need to keep going he couldn't get his bearings. He was choking. It was so hot.

* * *

Sakura ran, rounding the corner of the street and leaping onto the roof of the nearest building. Climbing over it, she aimed her gun at the nearest flank and began to fire. Five shots later, the useless tool dropped to the ground, spent of ammo. She rolled onto her back, trying to regain her breath. She never saw the Death Hunter fly at her from the darkness. It was only the sudden clash of Abel's scythe against the metal that snapped her eyes open. Even then, she saw nothing but the flash of silver and black streaked with red as he moved.

"Abel..."

He landed lightly beside her, a faint smirk on his ebony lips.

"You…saved me…" She stuttered dumbly.

He just smiled.

Tears came to her eyes as she threw her arms around him, feeling his wing cup protectively over her as she buried her face against his neck. She could be part of his team. She could have a home again...if she could save it.

TBC


	11. Tidal Darkness, pt 2

_**Chapter Ten: Tidal Darkness, pt 2** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood…I only dream I do…** _

They found refuge in a church shortly after. It wasn't the safest place but it was mostly intact; far better for protection than most of the buildings in the ravaged Rome. They were both so exhausted by then, there was little they could do accept crawl in between the splintered pews, curl up against each other for comfort and fall into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Sakura's eyelashes fluttered vaguely at the delicate, cool sensation on her exposed cheek. She resisted the coming consciousness at first. Then another faint, wet kiss felt on her eyelashes and she forced herself up. The kunoichi looked up, into a small drift of snow filtering through the roof.

_That's….not right…its spring…_

"Helga…" Abel drifted off, a look of rage filling his eyes for a brief second.

"Who?"

"She's a Methuselah with the ability to manipulate ice and the like…and it looks like she brought an early winter."

"But…But even clouds won't block all the UV radiation…right? So what's the point?"

"Naturally, no. However, this storm is far from natural."

Sakura wanted to cry: they had been counting heavily on the coming dawn to give them time to regroup and mount a counter-offensive. Sakura steeled herself; she wasn't going to let them win. Never; that wasn't an option. A good shinobi guarded their home to the death. She had been too late, too weak to save Konoha. She was determined that Rome wouldn't meet the same fate.

* * *

Leon simply fell back, too tired to do anything more than pant for breath. Every step he took was an act of sheer force fighting the winds that threatened to keel him. The snow had risen to his knees, and he fought for every inch of space he moved across.

* * *

The Professor winced as he pressed his hand against the wound in his shoulder. At the very least, the rush of snow would cover his tracks in a short amount of time and give him some leeway. His fiancée had loved snow...she used to drag him out into the white to drink hot chocolate and stare at the flakes as they drifted down.

* * *

Sakura leapt onto the nearest building, glancing back constantly to look for Abel. She lost him so easily in the white out with his silvery hair and blue eyes…But it was the first time in a long time she was glad she had pink hair; most of the time, it was a source of chagrin for her and her commanders: it was difficult to disguise, too rare to pass off as anyone but her, and didn't hold dye well. At least for Abel it made a difference. Thankfully, he was right behind her. She shivered involuntarily with the next gust of wind-her outfit was hardly appropriate for the sudden turn in weather. But even before that spasm had passed, his jacket had folded around her shoulders.

"Abel-san, no," She replied, shaking her head.

"I much prefer when you call me my name: Abel," He smirked.

"Abel..."

"The cold doesn't bother me."

* * *

Vaclav smiled to himself as Kate's voice came over his bio-com-link: She had reached the Empire and was docking. But, more importantly, Methuselah warships were being dispatched. Among those on the ships were Astharoshe Asran, the Duchess of Kiev, and the Count of Memphis along with Baybars of the Royal Guard.

* * *

Father Hugue smiled faintly to himself as he examined the body of the dismembered Methuselah at his right: it was quite clear that it was in fact an extension of Dietrich's original Auto-Jagers-these were much stronger, and the wiring suggested that they would be able to perform Haste, or Acceleration, for a much longer period of time than previously could be maintained, their muscles had also been rigged to perform at a much higher rate without the risk of cellular and tissue break-down, moreover, parts of their intelligent, higher thinking brain had been left intact, but overridden with electronic chips and plates that were obviously Empire technology, likely stolen, given the recent progress with the Empire.

But this was bad news for all of them: the last waves had been basic Auto-Jagers…these were much more advanced…

* * *

Kate uplinked with the Methuselah warship _Red Widow_ and began to load the files on the last known positions of the remaining Vatican enforces with special attention for the AX.

"These statistics are outdated by at least twenty-four hours," Astha stated, chewing thoughtfully on her lip.

"And the best we have," Ion replied.

"True. We can assume a few things, given our previous experiences with some of the Vatican members: Father Abel is quite good at forcing the enemy into a narrow position and obliterating them, leaving very little in terms of doubt about his whereabouts. Father Leon, naturally, would head straight for a fight and the Professor would very carefully secure a perimeter and fight from there," Baybars said, pulling up a rough triangulation using Kate's systems.

* * *

Tres followed the tracks in the snow, able to calculate the millimeters difference in depth and width that proved it was a trail made by two people following after one another.

Likely, he deduced based on fine weight and depth penetration analyzes, Abel Nightroad and Haruno Sakura.

* * *

Sakura collapsed against the cold stone of an ancient, marble angel, struggling to catch her breath.

"Sakura…" Abel trailed off worriedly.

"I'm fine," She replied with a weak smile as she forced herself up and continued on.

No food, no sleep, no chakra...

* * *

Kate had tracked hours obsessively. It was _her_ operatives that were out in the field, alone, and horribly overpowered.

"Nearing minimum range for maximum resolution." Kate said with a smile as she linked to the Methuselah systems once again.

"Negative," Astha replied. "There's far too much distortion in the air to assure your transfer."

"What?!" Kate cried.

"You heard her right," Ion replied, typing furiously on the nearest key pad. "Estimated time of arrival has just increased by four hours."

"Damn it," Astha hissed.

* * *

Vaclav disappeared into the chaos, tearing Methuselah corpses apart as quickly as they could come at him. Brilliant arcs of crimson disappeared into the white out, staining the white snow scarlet. Bones snapped, organs tore, muscle ripped, and skin was shredded beneath his talented hands, his feet moving in perfect, mechanical coordination.

* * *

The Professor gave a small smile of victory as he parried the ax away with the blade hidden in the wooden case of his cane. With a swift upward knee to the undead creature's stomach, he spun and cleaved its head straight from its heavily armored shoulders. Dancing back from his companions, he ducked left, appearing behind the next and ripping it in half before slamming the blade through its skull to ensure a kill. Feigning left, he struck right, tearing through the goggles and into the eye socket of the next, twisting the sharp protrusion for maximum damage.

"Is that all you have?" He asked with a smile, whipping the cane slightly to clear the gore.

The next wave descended and he moved.

Hugue moved, a blonde and gray blur, through the heavily clustered Auto-Jagers, heads and limbs flying behind him. Even if he couldnt kill them as efficiently as he wanted to, he could make it impossible for them to attack. In a single, practiced motion, four heads went flying, three sets of arms splattered against the snow, and eight legs were severed.

He shifted in between shadow and visibility, from into the snow to directly in front of them, and each movement was a fatal blow for the nearest creature; a lethal ballet that was choreographed to their inevitable destruction, the music the fading beat of their hearts and the shredding of their bodies.

* * *

Abel cried the command, a sudden electrical discharge pulsing off of him with enough force to obliterate the first ranks of the newest wave. His scythe swept through the next row a moment later, the tail end of it snapping well into the third string. Behind him, Sakura's hands snapped outwards, chakra flowing into them and literally vaporizing the spinal cords. Her leg snapped up, breaking the third's neck with an audible crack; spinning with the momentum of the movement, she pulled between the next two and back-handed both hard enough to send their heads tumbling. Flipping over the ax flung at her ankles, she slammed her foot through the abdomen of the nearest and pulled up, cleaving him in half.

Abel materialized behind her a moment later, pressed back to back against her.

"They're stronger than the last ones…faster…" She panted, wiping sweat away from her eyes despite the bone chilling cold.

He nodded in agreement as he batted another ax out of the air. It landed with an audible clack a moment later, spiraling across the frozen pavement. In the time it took the weapon to come to a stop, the air was a sea of blood as the duo tore through the next round. It would be six hours later when Sakura and Abel, half-dragging each other, half-crawling themselves, collapsed on the ground. The storm had let up in small sectors for brief periods of time…not even Helga could maintain that barrage for so long, but now she appeared quite rested based on the ferocity of the new wave of white pouring over them. They moved into a cathedral; the roof had only recently collapses and formed a primitive room off to the side that was free of the three foot depth of snow elsewhere. His destroyed wings trailed blood across the white snow, her own crimson life force leaking from multiple wounds.

"Abel…" She trailed off, eyeing his wounds; chakra moved to her hands.

"No," He replied throatily, catching her wrist gently. "Save your strength."

"But, Abel…"

"I heal quickly," He assured her, scanning her cheeks and the flushed skin of her chest and throat. He was sure her fever had returned.

* * *

"Switching from Strategic Planning Mode to Genocide Mode."

Tres fired casually, all of his shots guaranteed kills. His eyes glowed a faint red with the rapid calculations pouring into his head and the analysis that he was completing. In a single fluid motion, he floated across the snow, firing as he moved, clips snapping back into place as empty magazines fell into the snow. Damaged weaponry was abandoned in the snow, new firearms produced from the folds of his jacket as he cleared an entire block. The fiery light of his eyes died back again, his guns falling back into the holsters hidden in his clothing and on his hips. He turned to the next wave and two familiar organic signatures. He saw Sakura leap up, her senses firing wildly as she defended against the nearest attacker as best she could, sliding backwards with the force of the impromptu kick that collided with its chest. Abel's talons bit into the throat of it a moment later, severing its head from its body. A second later, she repaid the favor as another came at his back: she slipped between them, catching its ax with the kunai in her left hand, crossing over her chest as her right hand balled into a first and slammed against its chin, the body erupting into a spray of brilliant red. Abel's massive wings shook mightily, his body lifting upwards as his scythe swept across the air, destroyed Methuselah bodies raining down around Sakura, their blood pouring down on her.

And a moment later, gunfire erupting around both of them, bodies hitting the floor.

"Target Elimination confirmed."

"Tres…"Abel smiled.

Below, Sakura's smile told him everything; relief was written so clearly across her face, he felt it vicariously.

"Immediate evacuation to a more easily secured location is advised," He stated simply.

Abel nodded, motioning for them to follow. His Crusnik eyes, sharp and sure, saw through the snow as readily as their eyes did on clear days.

* * *

"Approaching minimum range," Baybars stated as he uploaded Kate's image.

"On my count," Astha replied, her hand coming up, her fingers going down before her wrist snapped down.

The switch was flipped and the photons escaped the ship. Kate swirled away and felt the oblivion of data space. It lasted only a moment, a long blink of her figurative eye.

* * *

Abel sank down on the ground as Sakura collapsed forward, both struggling to catch their breath.

"Requesting damage report," Tres stated, kneeling beside the kunoichi.

"Uninjured," She replied.

"Minor injuries from close quarters combat," Abel said between gasps even as his flesh began to pull back together.

"Multiple enemies approaching from all sides. ETA: five minutes."

"Kate, reporting."

Sakura's head snapped up as the hologram's feet filled her eyes, her own emerald orbs drifting to the strawberry blonde's kind eyes.

"Recommended course of action?" Tres asked.

"Situation brief?" Kate replied.

"Neither Father Abel nor Sister Sakura have sufficient physical reserves to assure victory. Likewise, munitions on low. Chance of victory is less than fifteen percent."

Kate's eyes narrowed, softening with dread and guilt: she would survive, as a picture comprised of color and light, as her friends were killed and there was nothing she could do. She would watch them helplessly. She hated herself. Hated the damned accident that made her so useless.

"Father Abel…a Crusnik is like a Methuselah, right?" Sakura asked.

He nodded, still on his hands and knees panting for breath.

"Kate-san…what about my blood?" She asked, her head snapping up.

"What do you mean?" She asked hesitantly.

"Will it work!?" Sakura screamed, forcing herself up.

The guilt on Kate's face registered for only a moment before she rocked her head in indecision.

"Will it!?" Sakura demanded again, the energy of the enemy flickering across her cold skin.

"It wouldn't be nearly as nourishing as the blood of a Methuselah, but…"

Sakura didn't respond, she simply fell to her knees beside Abel, tearing open the collar of her shirt to expose her neck and an expanse of her chest. She slipped her arms under his, hauling him up to his knees, and pressing his head gently against her neck. He shook his head furiously; it would be unforgivable. If only those Auto-Jagers weren't technically walking corpses…they had remained in such a state for so long, their blood didn't only lack a sufficient colony of the Bacillus virus, but was harmful to his system.

"Please…" hot tears rolled down her face, washing across his cheek and over her neck and chest, "I need you…Please… _We_ need you."

The terror in her voice was so real, the utter pleading in her salty tears….He had sworn to protect humans…

"Sakura…"

The same energy, only closer…stronger, danced across her skin and she shuddered beneath him.

"I'm begging you…" She whispered.

"Forgive me," He replied, his mouth parting.

"There's nothing to forgive," She said, feeling his lips move gently.

She felt the penetration, the delicate pinprick of his fangs, but no pain…no, she felt sensation much lower; a tug inward as he drank, a momentary withdrawal as he swallowed…her breathing grew heavier, her hands groping vainly behind her for substance-his wings….their sheer size made the impossible to grasp and cling to… a cold hand found her's, Tres reaching out in a moment of kindness. She gripped his hand tightly, fighting the rising tide of sensation in her lower belly. Kate and Tres averted their eyes, knowing their intrusion of such an intimate moment was impossible to avoid.

"Abel!" She gasped as he applied gentle pressure to the small of her back, lifting and arching her to better expose her throat, oblivious to the fact her hips were flushed against his. Her free hand came across his back, her fingers digging into the destroyed fabric as she felt the upward pull of his mouth. His wings trembled slightly, falling around her as he leaned over her, pushing her gently to the ground, his body arched over her delicate frame. She moved beneath him, clinging to his jacket as he pulled life force from her. A moment later, he had pulled her up into a sitting position. Her world was spinning away. Her vision was tunneling, the blackness licking at the edges of it.

She felt two still-hot tendrils of blood run down her chest as he withdrew, his tongue sweeping against the wound once more, lapping up the remaining ruby droplets. Her world faded and the next thing she knew was a brilliant flash of light that glowed from her vantage point, stretched across the ground. Tres was over her in an instant, shielding her from the flying debris, the pieces of _bodies_ , and pressing his palm against the punctures in her slender throat.

"Damage report indicated symptoms indicative of traumatic blood loss," He stated, his voice wobbling to her ears.

Kate replied waspishly that that was a statement of the obvious and radioed the Methuselah warship. She never finished the call; several of the reanimated Methuselah corpses scurried from the shadows, axes drawn.

"No!" Kate cried as Tres was thrown from Sakura by a well-placed blow to the back of his shoulders.

Sakura's glassy eyes snapped up as she rolled onto her feet, stumbling back in time to avoid a blow to the chest. But it came at her again, too fast for her to evade…She felt the pressure of the air being forced aside by the blade strike her wounded throat. Abel dropped between them in a blur of silver and black, rendering the corpse in half with a swift pull that brought the blade of his scythe across the creature.

"Stay away from her," He stated simply, spreading his left arm defensively as his wing cupped behind her. He pulled her close, cradling her against his chest.

"Abel…"

"It's alright," He replied, anxiety crossing his crimson eyes for a flicker of a second.

"I know," She assured him, burying her face against his neck as he pulled her off her feet, her entire body supported by one arm.

He smiled, drawing back his scythe and lashing the chain out in the remaining gray of vampires, annihilating them instantly.

* * *

Sakura woke up in a massive bed, her wounds bandaged and no recollection of how much time had passed.

"What…Where am I?" She asked herself, fighting back her daze as she forced herself up.

"Aboard a Methuselah warship, in the quarters of the Duchess of Kiev," A young man replied.

Sakura turned over, her feverish eyes meeting his clear autumn red eyes.

"Count of Memphis…" She trailed off. "Father Nightroad…"

"Abel!" Sakura cried, scrambling up as the memories flooded over her, and sprinted into the hall.

She rounded the corner badly, slamming against Astha, who had the presence of mind to catch her as she stumbled back.

"Hold it. You should be resting," She hissed.

"No, Abel, you don't understand…"

"Yes?" He interrupted, appearing from the next hall over.

She broke away from the Viscountess of Odessa and collided with him, twining her fingers in his jacket as she sank to the floor. He fell with her, catching her up in his arms.

"I'm so sorry," He said, averting his eyes.

"For what?" She asked, tears gathering in her eyes.

"To have taken from you…that you had to see the monster I am…."

"Don't say that!" She snapped, curling closer against him, "You're not a monster."

He smiled faintly, smoothing her hair against her scalp.

"Father, pardon my audacity, but perhaps it would best for her to return to bed," Astha stated a moment later.

"Of course," He replied, swinging her easily onto her feet.

She walked with the support of one arm around her shoulder. He eased her down in the bed, pulling the blanket across her.

"What happened?"

"With the help of the Empire, Rome will be retaken in short order," He replied.

"And the AX members?"

"They're all fine, if not a little worse for wear."

She smiled faintly with relief before shuddering slightly and curling under the downy cover.

His eyes widened slightly in realization: there was no discernable way she could have recovered so quickly from the advanced state of hypothermia and blood loss she had sustained, let alone the fever that had recurred during their time in the field. He sat down, kicking off his boots and shrugging off his jacket before he slipped in beside her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"Methuselah are such hardy creatures that they very rarely carry the supplies necessary to the medical treatment of humans," He explained.

She nodded, moving against him. She hadn't realized how cold she was until she had something to compare her body to. Abel frowned slightly to himself at the icy chill of her skin. He felt entirely responsible for her current state: from the moment he had pierced her neck, he had tasted the illness on her blood, the bitter edge in the crimson fluid. But even through that, he had continued to drink the strong, sweet fluid that flowed through her veins. If he had stopped any sooner, he wouldn't have been able to obtain the eighty percent output that had ultimately saved them…but if he had found a way, she wouldn't be so sick.

And another thing puzzled him: he had never heard of a Crusnik being able to sustain for any period of time on human blood, but he supposed it was similar to a human choosing tofu over animal meats. In fact, he had already been forced to feed off one of the Methuselah aboard the airship; Astha, seeing his condition, demanded he take a small portion of her blood. Ultimately, he had…Astha had the rich, perfumed blood of a noble. And Abel was ashamed to say that when she offered it that he had been unable to resist.

"Abel…" Sakura trailed off.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Thank you…for saving me."

TBC


	12. Aftermath

_**Chapter Twelve: Aftermath** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or Naruto!** _

Sakura sighed in defeat as she rose from the destroyed cathedral floor, her gun still in her hands.

"What a mess..." She said to herself as she pushed her hair away from her eyes.

"I know the feeling," Leon replied as he climbed over the rubble.

"This is going to take forever to clean up," She added with a wry smirk.

"At least we're alive to clean it up," He responded.

Even she couldn't help but laugh at that.

"I'm going to look around for a little while longer," She stated as she walked away.

* * *

Sakura crouched down to rest for a moment. The sun, high above them, was making it difficult to exert much energy for a long period of time. Already she was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and she had only been out for a few minutes.

Something suddenly slinked into her vision and she cried out, "Stop!" before she could halt herself. She was up on her feet and running before she really knew what she was doing.

"Sasuke!" She screamed as she tore the destroyed lane.

His purple sash flickered in her vision down the next right and she sprinted after him.

"No! Please!" She cried as she turned down the next street, catching a glimpse of his katana sheath.

Endlessly, she pursued him through the streets, sure it was him…so sure it was painful even to think about it. Eventually, she found herself climbing over the remains of a church into its cathedral, debris and dust kicked up by her frantic movements. She was so shocked to find _him_ sitting there that she didn't know what else to do but stop.

"O…Orochimaru…" She breathed.

"Haruno," He replied simply, appraising her with a look of…disinterest. It was…terrifying to see his eyes so blank and lifeless…nothing in them…not even a desire for power.

"What happened to you?" She asked before she could stop herself.

He just shrugged.

Gently, she crept forward, on her hands and knees as she knelt down beside him, her trembling hand coming across his shoulder, "Please."

"What would you have me do?" He asked.

"Tell me…what happened," She replied, choking on her own emotions.

"The same that I suspect happened to you," He replied.

Sakura flinched at the comment that was so out of character for him. It was all so very _wrong_. He should have been trying to kill her and she should try to be killing him, they shouldn't have been comforting each other in this…sick, twisted dance. He seemed so deflated, so defeated. If she had seen him in person herself and see his ferocity she would have thought the Bingo Book had it wrong. 

"Please…what do you know?"

He sighed, leaning in against her so close his lips were brushing against her ear and whispered, "Tsunade...she knew. She did this."

Sakura recoiled as if she had been struck. She peered up into his eyes and what she saw was so horrible she simply ran. Sheer terror took her, grabbed her, sunk firmly into the pit of her stomach and refused to be shaken off. She had seen the one thing she feared most in those eyes: Truth. She tore past Leon as some point, who cried out to her in obvious concern. But she didn't stop. Blonde hair flashed back her vision, and she knew it was Hugue, vainly trying to reach out to her. The Professor tried to stop her, even Vaclav at some point in her aimless, sudden need to _flee_ flickered in her tear-blurred peripherals.

"Sakura!" The cry accompanied a sudden pull on her wrist and the flash of black and silver she knew so well, "What on Earth happened?"

She was crying far too hard to make an intelligible statement and pantomimed desperately, her chest heaving.

"Calm down," He ordered solemnly, his hands coming down gently on her shoulders as he demonstrated how to breath properly again.

Sakura fought him weakly for a moment before simply giving in and collapsing against his chest in a hysterical mass of tears and messy pink hair, sobbing something he couldn't make out. Not knowing what else to do, his arms came around her and held her tightly.

* * *

Caterina appraised the holographic woman before her with her blue eyes before nodding over the rim of her cup. The warm fluid filtered past her ruby red lips as she tilted the cup forward before setting it down and adjusting her blonde waves around her face more appropriately. Her slender fingers, sheathed in white silk, gently pushed her hat into place and adjusted the round of glass that framed her right eye. She opened her computer. Staring in the reflection of the surface was a long face framed with blonde hair and accented with amber eyes. 

The first thing that struck her was the haunted look in her almost amber colored eyes. The second thing was terror. How had the woman infiltrated her office? Caterina thought about reaching for the panic button and then thought better of it. She had no doubt the woman behind could kill her. 

"How can I be of assistance?" The Cardinal finally asked.

"That depends entirely on your status," The woman replied huskily. 

"I assure you my position in considerable."

"There is a young woman among your ranks who I have a…history with," She responded.

"Her name?" Caterina replied. "If I might be so bold as to ask."

"Haruno Sakura."

Caterina didn't falter, only motioned for the woman to take a seat, "Quite impressive, if we think of the same individual."

The woman smiled, nodding with the warmth a mother might show when another praised the efforts of her child. But very quickly her face hardened, "What I am about to tell you, must never be repeated."

Caterina nodded, "Please, continue."

"Regarding the destruction of her home, I was intimately involved."

Caterina couldn't prevent the sharp inhalation that pushed through her lips.

The woman didn't wait for her to respond to continue, "However, it was not as…black and white as you might assume."

Caterina nodded again as she filled the spare cup on the tray with some tea and pushed it towards the female sitting opposite her, "Few things are." The woman thanked her with a curt nod, wrapping her slender fingers around the porcelain cup and drawing it to her lips.

"The world she knew was an illusion."

"How so?" Caterina asked as she lifted her own cup.

The woman stopped, apparently searching for the right words to respond, "It was…new, I suppose. There was no history to it; most of that was fabricated. It was necessary to make them believe in a different time, to make their abilities normal."

"And how do you know so much?" Caterina responded.

"Because for several years, I was their leader,"

"What is your name, if I may ask?"

"It would be unfamiliar to you. But my name is Tsunade."

Caterina waited for her to continue, sipping as the tea that suddenly seemed bitter.

"We were…an experiment."

Caterina resisted the initial urge to gasp again and choked back the tea in her mouth before finding Tsunade's hazel eyes. The woman peered back at her for a moment before continuing, "We were the next generation of bio-weapons in the fight against Methuselah. We were to be faster, stronger, smarter, in every way their superiors."

"How is that possible?" Caterina asked, her voice harsher than she intended.

However, if she noticed the sudden edge to the Cardinal's voice, Tsunade gave no recognition of it, "That was the first major problem and it could be solved only one way: the Bacillus virus."

Caterina's eyes hardened but not in anger or hatred, only in sympathy she didn't dare show to her closest friends, let alone a complete stranger.

"From the time my grandfather was a small child, pregnant females were injected with different forms of the Bacillus virus, all of them genetically altered. We were attempting to make a new breed: Day Walkers-vampires immune to sunlight the way a human would be, but with all the strengths of a Methuselah. However, it wasn't until much later I realized just how many factions from the outside were involved. My former lover was one of the operatives for another faction…there were so many wars, private and otherwise…so much death."

Caterina allowed her a moment to recover before pressing her for more information.

"Whole continents were lost in Armageddon, we simply took up residence on one of them, made an entire world of smoke and mirrors. Expertly hid the true history behind a thousand year's worth of lies. "

"And how does Sakura play into this?"

"She was my protégé, a medical student like none I've ever seen. She was precious to me; she still is precious to me."

"Why did you come here?" Caterina finally asked.

"Since the…the incident, I've been trying to find out what happened. _Why_ it happened."

"Yes?"

"Someone in your ranks ordered the attack. Of that I'm quite sure."

Caterina didn't deny it; more than likely, it was true: they had the money, manpower, and skills to do it covertly, quietly. To clean up the mess without fanfare. 

"It's too late for most of the people I love, but, please, protect her if you can."

Caterina's hand came across Tsunade's and she squeezed gently, "You have my word."

Tsunade smiled back weakly, "And please, don't tell her I was here. She would hunt for me, for _shadows_ , for the rest of her life. She's too…too young for that."

"I understand."

Caterina looked up.  "Tsunade, may I ask a question of you?"

The blonde nodded.

"Do you have the name of the aggressor?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Thank you," Caterina replied with a resigned nod.

"No, thank you," Tsunade replied.

Caterina wasn't terribly surprised when the woman simply vanished. 

* * *

Sakura sputtered a weak reply over the rim of her cup as she tried desperately to make Abel _understand_. But every time she tried, she simply dissolved back into a hysteric sobs. And every time he would patiently coax her back to some form of composure and urge her to try again.

"I…I…I…" She hyperventilated between syllables, "And…he…he…he…"

Abel sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close against the remaining chill in the air, against the fear that had so radically degraded her composure.

"Whatever it is, it will be alright," He told her simply.

She felt a sudden surge of anger rise up: _what_ did _he_ know about _anything_? But it was quickly replaced with a kind of… _defeat_ —it just seemed…over. But there was no satisfaction; it was nothing like coming full circle…it just…it just was…

"Abel…You…" She suddenly before just stopping.

"Yes?"

"You…you don't understand."

He didn't have time to respond before she had wriggled free of his grip and was running down the destroy lane.

"Sakura!" He called, reaching out as though he could capture her when she was already so far away and in so many more ways than one.

Abel sat back, feeling utterly helpless. He wasn't sure what he had said or done to upset her so badly. She could be so like Esther, so emotional…but she was so driven and bright and sunny…He shook his head; he was a man…not a boy. He didn't substitute one person for another. Esther would never be Lilith and Sakura would never be Esther. But it was hard not to compare them sometimes.

And suddenly he realized it wasn't what he had said or done.

It was what he _hadn't_ said or done…

* * *

Sakura ran until her legs finally gave out; not too far, considering how ill she was feeling. And after that, she simply found a quiet place to curl up in-the destroyed remains of a stone gargoyle that had been part of a church.

She sat there for a long time before a regal female voice demanded, "What are you doing out here?"

Sakura's eyes flickered up, though she didn't move her head. She didn't want Astha to think she had actually startled her. That was too much like letting the Viscountess win. She suddenly realized she was being hostile, in thought, at least, and stood up to show the noble the proper respect-no matter how badly she didn't want to. Astharoshe narrowed her amber cat eyes at the girl, clearly displeased. Sakura glared back, apparently unfazed.

"I'm waiting," The Duchess Kiev stated.

Astha was cursed with the all too uncanny nose of a Methuselah. She could smell Abel on the girl...and she could smell that Abel had been upset. She could smell his anger and his sadness, Sakura's rage and disappointment. 

"I owe you _nothing_. And what I'm doing out here is _my_ business," Sakura replied, trying unsuccessfully to beat back the hostility in her voice.

"I suppose your life doesn't matter, then," Astha growled.

"As I remember it, the battle was already concluded before you showed up," Sakura hissed.

"Insolent child," Astha replied.

Sakura smirked; the small gesture quickly becoming a mocking laugh. Astha gave a feral growl, drawing her hand back to strike the kunoichi. Sakura straightened her arm, ready to catch the blow. Neither was entirely sure what happened next, only that Abel had found a way between them and managed to catch both of them without so much as breaking a sweat. Quite the opposite in fact, he was smiling.

"Now, now ladies, we really must be more civil," He stated, releasing Astha, but not Sakura.

The Viscountess gave a sound of disapproval before turning away, while Sakura clenched her fist in Abel's grip. It wasn't until the Duchess was long gone that he released her.

"You'll have to pardon Astha; she means well, but her tactics are sometimes questionable," He said with his usual goofy smirk as Sakura pulled back.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura demanded before she realized she was starting to sound like the Duchess of Kiev.

"Looking for you," He replied with a grin.

"I'm not a child." 

"Of course not," He replied, never losing his look of…she didn't have a word for it, but 'happy' was about as close as she could come. Irrationally, that just irritated her all the more. "Are you alright?" He asked, his face falling into a much more solemn expression.

Sakura bit back the retort in her mouth: No, she was _fine_. After all, she had only _just_ lost her home all over again, met the _last_ person she wanted to see _ever_ again, had her _mother figure_ implicated in the fall of Konoha, and been berated by the _Duchess_. No, she was _fine_.

"I'm…"

"Don't say you're fine," Abel interrupted and with such intensity her breath froze in her throat. "If you're not."

"What would you know?" She asked, though the question was without conviction.

"More than I'd like to admit," He said with such a sad smile, she wanted to just make the hurt in his face go away.

Sakura mentally slapped herself-she already knew how much he had endured; she'd read it, seen it in his eyes. She moved closer, meaning to hug him…or…well, honestly she didn't know what she _meant_ to do, only that, regardless of her previous intentions, she found her lips pressed flush against his. He froze beneath her for a moment, neither encouraging nor rejecting the contact before he suddenly righted his back, captured her shoulders, and gently pushed her away. There was nothing, Sakura thought, that he could have done that would have been any crueler. She felt hot and cold at the same time, and the burning shame and embarrassment were almost more than she could bear without losing her composure.

"You're confused right now," He told her simply.

She shook her head; she couldn't have been _farther_ from confused. At least, not about him…She opened her mouth to tell him that, but nothing came out aside from a pathetic, emotion-choked noise of defeat.

"Perhaps…"

Sakura's hand came around his arm, pressing gently. Her head hung, her eyes averted, "I understand."

With that, she turned away and marched slowly back down the lane, the fading light of sunset washing over her tear-stained face.

Had she stayed, she would have heard Abel profess that he wanted to be with her, but he wanted it to be because of a genuine attraction, not because of a need to have _someone_ , _anyone_ by her side. He wanted to say so many things. And all of them tangled in his throat and refused to be spoken. 

TBC


	13. Tripartite of Conflict

_**Chapter Thirteen: Tripartite of Confliction** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or Naruto!** _

Sakura curled up on the bow of the _Iron Maiden_ , sitting on the metal dock that served intermittently as either a survey post or a platform to mount an attack. In this case, it was just a quiet place to be alone…which increasingly seemed to be what she was. Alone. And for the briefest second, she thought that Abel just might be on her side. She snorted to herself, a disdainful noise that sounded completely wrong even to her own ears. She was wrong, of course. She should have learned with Naruto and Sasuke. She was a piece of porcelain that didn't fit a vase. 

She drew her legs up to her chest, looping her arms around her knees. She cried, but her tears were silent-she wasn't weeping like a child, the hurt was just too deep to be purged that simply.

* * *

"I Methuselah who doesn't know what she is..." Caterina sighed to herself, gazing at her through the window of the office on the _Iron Maiden_.

It didn't seem possible: Sakura had never needed or even shown a _vague_ primal interest in blood, she lacked the innate predatory mannerisms, she had no fangs…the only remotely indicative factor Caterina could find was her strength and speed-neither of which was uncommon among the AX. She sighed again, resting her head on her slender, gloved hand as she absently swirled her cup with her free hand. The beige liquid rippled, a single drop spilling over the rim and onto the porcelain saucer. Irritation dictated another sigh before she set it back down.

It wasn't an issue of whether or not Sakura had a place in the AX-she had already proven herself that far-but whether she would stay or not. Caterina had no doubt the truth would surface, regardless of whether or not she was the one to give the information. But she was duty bound to hold her tongue after her promise to Tsunade. And, more than honor, there was the issue of…love.

* * *

Abel sat hunched over his stew, stirring it carelessly without bothering to look at it or even sample it. The bread on the side of his bowl remained untouched and even his milk tea hadn't been drained, despite the addition of his usual thirteen sugars.

"Never thought I'd see the day when Abel Nightroad refused food," Leon growled gruffly as he sat down opposite the priest.

"Oh…" Abel responded quietly.

Leon slammed his fist against the table to get his attention before finally asking, "What happened _now_?"

Abel glanced over, vaguely startled but unwilling to relent. "It's been a long day."

"Then go get some rest," Leon growled as he clapped him none too gently on the shoulder before marching off.

Abel's wintry eyes rolled back to the window that overlooked the destroyed Vatican City, stirring his soup again. He sighed, not bothering to take his eyes from the scene or stop his compulsive movement. He was the one who was confused, that much was sure. It wasn't that there wasn't an attraction, quite the opposite, in fact. But…it would kill him to be hers one moment and then a friend just the next. That had happened with Noelle and it nearly tore him apart. Besides, she was just a child. Not by human standards, of course, but he was almost a millennia old and at least nine hundred years her senior. Not that that had matter with Esther…but Sakura wasn't Esther! And Esther wasn't her and neither of them was Lilith! However, he had the distinct feeling he was being unfair to her by pushing her aside so readily when even he felt the same way. But he wanted… _time_ ; time to decide and time for _her_ to decide as well. He felt a pang of guilt when he remembered not all creatures were blessed with time to wait. 

* * *

_How many more_ , she wondered, _are alive_?

If Orochimaru had survived, surely someone else _might_ have. He was a Sannin, of course, and she imagined that had figured heavily in his survival. But…there _was_ dumb-luck. Like Naruto's. And there was skill…like Sasuke and Kakashi. There was…there was a _chance_. But…was she willing to stake everything on that one, small, infinitesimal chance? Even her life…her sanity? She didn't know. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know the answer herself. Sakura stood up, grasping the rail as she did so to remind herself of her own strength. Her legs could still carry her, her arms could still defend her, and her mind could still serve her…even if it _felt_ like living death.

She set her mouth in a grim line as she stepped up on the rail overlooking a hundred foot plunge. She found her balance easily, tottering not even for a moment before she had centered herself. She took a deep breath, flipping herself over and landing easily on the bar again. Arching her back, she brought her legs in a curve over her head, balancing on one arm before letting herself down. Pumping her fist, she remembered she was still a kunoichi…she could still fight. And, if she could still fight, then…then _maybe_ it _was_ worth staking everything on that one hope…that one foolish, naive, small, _impossible_ hope.

Sasuke's image flashed unbidden into her head…The _avenger_. Did…did she really want to be _that_? Wasn't that like…like being consumed by hate and anger until _you_ didn't even exist anymore…only a shell of yourself…eaten out and hollow…?

* * *

Caterina toyed with the word, with the whole _idea_ of the word.

It was so simple: four letters strung together to make a word. That word had a definition. That definition came with a connotation. The definition was a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness. Emotionally, it meant everything from a shallow like of something as simple as grandma's apple pie to something as intense as the passion that resulted in marriage. It was sexual and innocent, sharp and soft, white and black and gray, it was…a jumble of everything and nothing…something so tangible but so incorporeal; something so important and so irrelevant.

Caterina loved Kate's teas, for instance, and she loved Abel. It was the same word, but the feeling was so very different, so much more important in the latter. It wasn't even romantic or sensual…it just _was_.

So if she, a woman of her power and knowledge of herself, could be so conflicted and not at the same time, how could she begin to fathom what Tsunade felt. How far, she wondered, did the depth of Tsunade's love run? It was easy to judge the blonde, to condemn her for her actions…but Caterina sinned frequently, and, many times, happily for what she felt needed to be done. Occasionally, she even refused to repent. So who was she to judge the contrite woman who had come to her for aid and comfort? She knew the answer: _No one_. She was _no one_ to judge or damn…especially not someone so…so like _herself_.

But…if she felt the love of Sakura, no matter how shallowly when compared with Tsunade, did she have a duty to tell Sakura the truth? Did she dare risk the answers being revealed at the wrong time, or, worse, the wrong _person_?

Caterina sighed to herself.

So much was at stake, personally, publically, politically…she might have to risk harming those she loved to save them from greater suffering. She didn't enjoy being the 'bad guy', but sometimes it was a necessary evil. But…in this case, she didn't have an answer to her own dilemma. And it was a dilemma she had put herself in to begin with. She silently berated herself: as a woman of politics and religion, she should have known better to make the promises she had without thinking them over and weighing them first. But she hadn't…and the consequences were hers alone to deal with.

* * *

He was an idiot.

That was the only conclusion Abel Nightroad, traveling priest of the Vatican and Crusnik 02, could come to about himself. He had a complete and utter inability, it seemed, to react appropriately to any situation that the female gender could toss at him. He sighed, a mingled noise of acceptance and defeat before he spooned his now lukewarm stew into his mouth. It would have been great, he realized, had he gotten to it half an hour earlier because, as it was, it was pretty good.

Even if he told himself consciously that Esther and Sakura weren't Lilith and Lilith wasn't them, there was always that underlying reason why he chose them; Esther more for her appearance similarity, granted, than her personality similarity with Lilith. Sakura, who bore no resemblance to the late Sahl, was the opposite case. She was strong, beautiful, persuasive, and above all had a desire for justice and a sense of… _morality_. And even more astounding was her ability to judge fairly the creatures who were so like the ones who had taken away her home, friends, family-her _life_.

But again he came to the conclusion that, if they were to be together, he wanted them to be together for the right reasons. Not because she wanted just someone and not because he just needed someone. They had to need each other specifically, at the right time and the right moment and in the right ways.

* * *

Sakura's fingers trailed lightly over her lips as she remembered the feel of Abel's against them. Soft, warm…inviting. But…that was only for a moment, she reminded herself. And even with that painful, cruel, aching memory at the front of her mind, she couldn't help but feel…. _aroused._ It was exciting to have taken the plunge, even if it hadn't turned out quite as she hoped. It was…spontaneous and beautiful, even if for only a moment. She felt empowered by her sudden control of the situation and the innate knowledge that she didn't recognize at the time…the knowledge of her body and what she _wanted_.

Her fingers traced down over her lips and over the curve of her collarbone. She didn't dare drop her hand lower; she was far from ready to be as open about her body as perhaps Tsunade or Ino were…was, perhaps….but it was still thrilling to realize that her body was just as _primal_ as it was proper. She had never had sex of her own volition. She had come close with a drunken Kakashi and closer still with Naruto on a mission gone awry. She used sex as a weapon, a tool. That's what she was: a weapon, a tool. 

And suddenly the crushing rejection came back to her and her hand fell away to her side.

* * *

Caterina found something exhilarating in her line of work. Why else would she choose to put herself in danger again and again? Because it was the danger she liked. It was exciting to hear the sudden rush of adrenaline laced blood in her ears and to feel her heartbeat pulse increasingly under the weight of her robes, and to feel the beads of sweat roll down her neck and gather thinly in her hairline. As a woman of power and position, she wasn't in any role to love. That wasn't to say that sex was out of the question, of course, but that, should she ever make that decision, it would be strictly for physical pleasure; or, horribly enough, for information. It was a sacrifice she had accepted she might have to make and it didn't bother her to think of it the way it once had. It was sad, but that was all. But it was also very sad that, even to Abel or Tres or any number of men who had once loved her or still did, she couldn't relinquish her heart.

Love, at least in the most real and sincere terms, was forever closed to her. She could indulge in the shallow kind of affection that was freely referred to as love, but never in the way she had once imagined she could. As a girl, she had read her fair share of romance novels and the like and she secretly found the erotic scenes exciting. But, long before she was even given the position of Cardinal, she knew that love, the kind in those books, wasn't meant for her.

* * *

Abel briefly, _very_ briefly, pondered the kiss they had shared.

He had to admit, it had been quite a moment and one he would remember for a long time. There was something about the heat of her lips on his that was welcoming. With Lilith, he had never had the chance for a real kiss. In that one brief moment Sakura had pressed her lips against his, she had moved farther than Lilith ever had. Not because she didn't want to, but because…because circumstance hadn't allow for it.

He sighed, thinking on his private…shame wasn't the right word…it was too pure and right to be shame and too private to be anything else. It was just…just a _memory_.

A memory of the night before Cain finally proved himself insane. It was such a warm memory…until he remembered how it ended so shortly after. He remembered the way Lilith kisses his cheek, running her hand down his chest and stomach _just_ past the point of comfort. The way her eyes had found his, the flirtatious sway of her hips and the curve of her lips as she asked him to come to her room that next night. She just wanted to speak with Cain, to finally settle issues on Earth before she turned to her own private matters, she's said. He agreed readily, still very much driven by adolescent hormones but even allowing for that, there was love there…real love, not lust.

He swallowed hard back against the lump of stew suddenly caught in his throat and moved to twirl the remaining in the bowl to calm his thoughts. But he found it had been sitting for so long in the cold, it was more of a lumpy custard with a sticky skin laid over it.

* * *

Sakura gazed briefly upwards, reaching out as though she could perhaps capture a star in her hand and bring it down, to cradle in her hand. It was a foolish, childish sentiment…but it was a carefree one.

Something fluttered in her field of vision and she looked over to see the sky raining, of all things, white feathers. 

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter Fourteen: Plots** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or Naruto. I only love them with a fiery passion befitting a thousand white hot suns…** _

Sakura felt her eyes closing against her will as the white feathers danced around her. Her body went limp and for a moment, she almost welcomed the sensation of peacefulness…but something was…was undoubtedly _wrong_ , she realized as her eyes fluttered shut.

"Attractive for a monster," Cain stated as he landed beside her, running his long fingers across her lips with a smirk. Gently, he swung her arm over his neck and lifted her into his arms.

"Abel?" She muttered as consciousness began to whirl away. 

Cain just smiled, "Not quite, my dear."

* * *

Caterina finally found Abel and took the liberty of sitting beside him. She glanced up at him sideways, trying to find his eyes with hers. It took a moment, but eventually he met her gaze and even managed a small, somewhat sad smile. She had wanted a day in Albion away from the chaos of Rome to refresh her operatives. Her plan clearly hadn't worked. 

"She really needs you," She sighed.

"I know," He finally replied after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"And you need her." 

"I know." 

"She's sitting out on the observation deck," Caterina said as she stood and left with a sense of satisfaction that she had not only kept Tsunade's confidence, but had also found a way to honor her request.

* * *

Abel hesitated for only a moment before turning the handle on the door and stepping out into the night. But to his surprise, she wasn't there, only a few, large white feathers. He hummed slightly in curiosity as he knelt and picked one of them up. He recoiled instantly as if he had been burned, rubbing his hand on his jacket to rid himself of the sensation. There was only one person he knew of who left behind that kind of stinging, sickly aura that literally screamed of insanity and death.

He knelt down on the platform, running his fingers over the cool gray metal. It was still warm in a few places, meaning it hadn't been more than a few minutes since he had been there. Carefully, he removed his glasses. Really, all they did was make his gaze less intense; without them, he could see things a human, or an android, wouldn't be able to. And he saw a flash of pink and black…their energy signatures…had _mingled_.

He hissed under his breath, anger flashing red in his eyes. He realized as he drew back his nails were elongating, his fangs growing. It took an effort greater than any he'd ever known before, but he stopped the nano-machines in his blood and forced his body back into its dormant phase. If he went Crusnik too soon, Cain would pick up on him and that could have disastrous consequences for Sakura. He cried out to Kate, giving her concise orders in her relay to Caterina, and then he was gone.

* * *

Sakura's eyes fluttered open and she wondered where she was before the realization took hold of her. Sitting up, her eyes flickered desperately around the ornate room, her senses ringing with their attempt to detect danger. But finding none, she had no choice but to calm herself and try to find a way out. She pushed the sheet off of herself, attempting to climb out of the mass of pillows she had been placed on. A cool draft skirted her chest and stomach as she did and for a moment, she thought that was weird. And then she realized she wasn't wearing anything.

The door to her left creaked suddenly, a shaft of light growing as it was opened. Reactively, she tugged the sheet from the floor, flinging it over her torso. A shadow filled the door frame, light backlight making it impossible to see until the door closed.

"Dietrich!" She hissed, though it lacked the conviction she had hoped for when she opened her mouth.

He smirked at her as he stepped closer, his hands behind his back.

"Stay back!" Sakura cried, pressing herself against the wall when she realized, for some reason, she couldn't work her chakra into anything recognizable.

He just walked up to her, pinning her to the wall with his arm as he leaned down against her, his lips brushing against her ear, "You really are pathetic."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she drew her hand back and flung it forward, aiming for his face in a moment of pure vindictive reaction. But to her horror, he managed to catch the blow…and smirked as if she had just proven his point.

"What did you do to me?" She demanded angrily.

"Oh, that." He stated, "I just…had some fun."

Sakura felt her fear shoot coldly down her spine and back up it as a cool bead of sweat rolled down her pale throat.

"Didn't I tell you? Didn't I warn you about the things I could do to you?" He smirked, running his fingers down her pulsing throat, trailing to her collarbone.

Sakura shook herself free, pressing herself against the next wall to hide her bare back. Dietrich eyed her with amusement, throwing his head back and laughing as he stepped back out of the room. Sakura hadn't even sighed in relief before, impossibly, a pair of hands seized her from behind. A cry caught in her throat as one of the clawed hands clamped over her mouth. Impossibly, she felt a body push out from behind her, his chest flush against her back. In a moment of knee-jerk terror, she spun in his grasp.

"Cain!" She cried over the muffle of his hand.

He smirked, pushing her back so forcefully she toppled back on the pillows. She curled back in on herself, trying to hide her bare body and protect herself at the same time.

"What do you want from me?" She demanded.

"What do you think?" He replied.

"You will not touch me!" She screamed.

"Sex? How naïve you are." He chuckled, "I wouldn't touch a monster."

"Look who's talking," Sakura snapped back.

"Foolish girl," He sighed, amused. "You don't even know."

Sakura swallowed against her suddenly dry throat, "Know what?"

"That you're a vampire. That your 'home' was just a science experiment," He said.

"Liar," Sakura said, meaning for it to be a scream…but it was a whisper lost in her throat.

"Am I?" Cain asked, shifting so suddenly, his hand was forcing her chin up before she realized he had moved.

Sakura flinched back, falling over herself as she did.

Cain smiled as he continued, "You, pretty, were one of those experiments. A Methuselah known as a Day Walker. You were injected with special strains of the Bacillus virus, clustered into 'clans' and turned free into your make-believe world. You were observed, picked off if you failed to meet his expectations…lab rats, really."

Sakura felt tears welling in her eyes…he _couldn't_ be right…it was…

"Impossible," She whispered.

"As impossible as the world around you? As impossible as me?" He smirked as he leaned in.

Sakura felt something break inside of her, as real as the tear of flesh or the snap of a bone, and felt her tears roll down her bloodless face.

"Stop…please…" She cried.

"Oh, but we haven't even gotten to the best part," He smiled. "Your so called leaders, all of them answered to him. They knew, they knew and never told you. Not even yours."

Sakura gave a cry of rage, lashing out at him with her bare hand. He caught it easily, twisting it behind her back to subdue her. She whimpered, more out of fear for her sudden helplessness than pain and he knew it.

"Entire continents were deemed unsuitable for life after Armageddon. But some weren't. Some were just floating laboratories, like yours. Places for science experiments without the restrictions an organized government might place on them. Why do you think air and sea travel were so heavily guarded?"

Sakura grunted beneath him, a vain attempt at masking her quiet sobbing. It had never occurred to her why those things have been so limited. She assumed it was because of the uneasy political balances. A cruise ship could well be taken for an enemy vessel, a flying apparatus for a spy mission…it made sense, but his story made more.

"Please, just stop…" She cried.

But he didn't…he continued, "You and your cell showed high potential from the moment of your birth. Aside from you, of course. But you…grew into your own."

Sakura curled up as best she could beneath him, wishing it would just end. Death would be a welcome response, she knew…and she hated herself for wanting to give up…but it would be so easy to just slip _away_.

"But someone decided you were too great a risk. As biological weapons, you carried you own set of benefits and limitations. And, besides, to push you to your full potential required measures even scientists were hesitant to take. Your puppy-love, for example, _Sasuke_. Do you think he would have grown so powerful without the motivation Itachi was ordered to give? Your leader knew nothing had been planned, but he was given and order, and like a good shinobi, he followed. Just like a _dog_."

She felt sick, dizzy…how could he sound so much like a child, react so much like a child, and be so evil…how was it possible? Bile rose up in her throat and she had to force it back down to avoid choking.

"What do you want from me?" She pleaded.

"I only wanted to tell you the truth," He stated, running his tongue across her neck.

"I…I thought you wouldn't touch me…" She stammered fearfully.

"I've changed my mind." He responded.

The fragile crystal sound of breaking glass filled the room and her head snapped up, but Cain's smile just widened.

"Oh, yes, Brother," Cain stated. "Just as impulsive as ever, I see. And to barge in on such a thing."

Sakura was too stunned to speak up; how could he dare to imply such a thing. Her throat felt drier, if that was possible, her stomach clenching sickeningly. Abel's eyes flashed red, his hair rising around his face, his bow falling away from the silver locks as his fangs grew. Blood poured from his palm, taking shape before her eyes.

"Oh, shall I leave you two alone?" Cain asked as he phased back through the wall, waving his hand at them in a mocking good-bye. The world stopped. She counted breaths, lost count of breaths, couldn't breathe. 

"Abel…" Sakura trailed off, trying to tell him. 

"Don't," He hissed. "Speak my name."

"Abel!" Sakura cried out desperately.

Before she knew what had happened, he had pinned her to the wall by her neck, his nails digging into her flesh. His crimson eyes flashed dangerously as he lowered the blade of his scythe to her throat.

"I should kill you," He stated.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock, tears spilling over her face again.

"Blood for blood, a life for a life," He finally sighed, dropping her to the floor and turning around.

"Please!" She cried, reaching for the hem of his robe.

But he just pulled away and walked towards the shattered window. He turned around once, his eyes suddenly soft and somehow sad. Sakura felt her rage build again as she spotted her own blood dotting the white sheet still wrapped around her body. Her head snapped up, her eyes meeting his.

"You're just like him," She replied. It was just an angry statement, lacking a shout or tears to match the agony she felt so acutely.

Abel's eyes widened, his mouth dropping as if he meant to say something in his defense. But he just stepped out through the window, glass cracking beneath his feet. For a flicker of an instant, she considered crying out to him again. But she didn't. What difference would it make? She wasn't sure how long she lay there, watching blood from the punctures in her throat drip onto the sheet, spattering it with blooms of red. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes, because when the blood flow stopped, she stumbled to her feet. She stood there for a moment or two, pulling the sheet apart and wrapping a suitable measure of it around her torso. Free to move again, she carefully walked through the shards of glass littering the tile and climbed out through the window.

* * *

Sakura ran through the wet streets, oblivious to her bleeding feet and her injured throat and aware only of the unrelenting, agonizing pain in her chest. Somehow, she found herself back at a familiar place and knew she had been in Albion the whole time. She didn't even try to reason the time and travel distance factors…that was just wasted energy. She threw herself against the door, sobbing against the metal as she knocked desperately. It opened so suddenly, she just tumbled onto him. But he was fast enough to catch her, supporting her negligible weight in his arms.

"Sakura…" Virgil stated, wrapping his arms around her to hold.

She relayed what she could through her broken sobs, her face buried against him the entire time.

"I'm so sorry," He replied simply at the end of it. 

"Where am I supposed to go?" She wept.

"There is no need for you to go anywhere," He replied as he closed the door behind her.

Sakura sobbed again, out of relief and gratefulness as he sat her down and wrapped a throw around her shoulders. He smiled as he sat down beside her, brushing her tear-damp bangs from her face. Pulling a kerchief from his pocket with his free hand, he gently wiped her face clean, using the then-damp cloth to clean the dried blood off of her neck.

"I'm so sorry," She said.

"Why?" He asked, smiling softly as he continued to clean her face.

"To burden you like this…"

"You," He said, his eyes suddenly fierce. "are not a burden."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked. "I've only been here twice. Once when I was ill and now…and neither time have I been helpful."

"We have long been considered a burden, a plague; you are just lost. You will find you way. And you seem the type who gives, not takes," He replied easily.

Sakura emerald eyes widened ever so slightly as he smiled at her, taking her hands in his as he dropped the dirty handkerchief.

"You're cold," He observed, rolling her hands in his to warm them.

Sakura felt a single tear gather in her eye which was quickly wiped away with his thumb.

"I believe a good meal and some rest is in order," He stated as he stood up, offering his hand which she readily took.

* * *

Sakura sat across from him in a pair of Vanessa's jeans and shirt she had lent her. It was a romantic scene, but devoid of romance of any kind. And she appreciated it; she was hurt and, she hated to admit _he_ had been right about anything, confused. It was easier to have a relationship that lacked the strings of a romantic tryst. She looked over at him, gently spooning some soup through her parted lips as he did the same.

"Is it to your liking?" He asked.

"It's delicious, thank you," She replied with as much enthusiasm as she could.

He smiled back with an incline of his head as he stirred his soup.

"We really should tend to those wounds," He stated after a moment of quiet observation.

Sakura dropped her spoon without meaning to as she lifted her fingers to the perforations in her neck. She realized for the first time how bad they were; his nails hadn't just punctured her throat, but when he pulled back, he had torn the flesh. They weren't life-threatening, but they looked bad, she knew without having seen them.

"I'll take care of them. Don't worry," She replied.

He clearly didn't like it, but he nodded his consent.

Dinner passed slowly, but not in the unpleasant, lagging way. It was blessedly _quiet_. And it was concluded when she finally fell into a bed and closed her eyes, drifting away into the void of sleep.

* * *

Sometime later, Sakura woke up and forced herself back onto her feet. Finding her way to a bathroom, she flipped on the light. Hissing with the sudden intrusion in her eyes, she waited for her vision to clear before glancing at her neck.

"Yeesh…" She growled as she turned on the faucet. Grabbing a small hand cloth from the rail, she dampened it and scrubbed out the wounds. She hissed as the scabs peeled back, blood trickling from them again. Now she remembered why Tsunade had drilled it into her to take care of even small wounds quickly…it sucked to have to open them and let a free blood stream clear them. She waited for the bleeding to stop before she returned to the bed, curling up under the blanket.

* * *

Sakura felt the ground shudder beneath her and the sensation woke her instantly. She jumped up, pushing the sheets off as she stumbled into the hall beneath the next wave.

"Another attack!" Virgil growled from behind her.

"By who?" Sakura demanded.

"Fleur de Mal," He replied as he pushed his way into the control room.

Sakura snorted in disdain. The Fleur de Mal were a loose ally of the Orden. They frequently clashed within their own ranks, though. A difference in operation styles, if she remembered correctly. The screen in front of them flickered to life as the cameras around the Ghetto perimeter activated. The destruction wasn't bad, not to the buildings anyway…but people…

"Seal the Ghetto. I'll buy you as much time as I can!" Sakura cried as she scrambled out of the room.

Virgil hesitated before pulling the slide down, the doors around the Ghetto. His eyes wavered to the screen of the main entrance sealing, to the image of Sakura diving beneath the door as it closed.

* * *

Sakura scrambled onto the street, slamming her knee into the head of a Methuselah as he captured a woman. The blow shattered its skull, stunning it, but not killing it. She let the body fall at the feet of the shocked woman as she sprinted down the next alley. Leaping up, she latched onto a pole hanging laterally over the next victim. Arching her back, she drove her feet into the Methuselah's back, sending it sprawling. She dropped down, yanking the man up and ordering him to run. Vaulting herself over the concrete wall that closed the alley way, she found herself staring down her…she didn't know anymore. His back was turned, his gun flashing as he attacked the next vampire down, oblivious to the one at his back.

Sakura heard her own cry ring as she leapt forward, a warning tearing from her lips. He turned his eyes wide and filled with emotion. Sakura sprang up on her heel…

TBC


	15. Depth

_**Chapter Fifteen: Depth** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood!** _

Sakura collided with him as the Methuselah's nails extended. She felt them slide over her back as the momentum of her impact sent them tumbling. The impact sent her sprawling as Abel slid back, his gun falling from his hand. Seeing he was vulnerable, Sakura scrambled to her feet and flung herself at the vampire, her knee leading the charge. The Methuselah snarled as it side stepped her, raking its nails down her back again. Sakura hissed as she sprang back at it, catching its head with her foot. She wasn't sure if the blow was lethal, but it was enough to stun and the unconscious vampire tumbled back.

Before she could wholly recover from the veracity of the first, another had dove at her from the top of the nearest café. Sakura sprang back, flipping up to bring the tip of her foot against its jaw. A moment later, she spun, catching the arm of another that came from behind. With a snap of her knee, she had disarmed him and pinned him long enough to knock him out. A fourth sprinted from the alley, leaping over Abel to reach her. But she was faster, kicking up to catch its blade in the crook of her knee and slamming her palm into its chest with enough force to dent the wall it consequently struck. Sakura stumbled, faltering beneath the weight of her wounds and the resultant blood loss. She vision began to fade around the edges and she realized when she saw a blur of color race at her from above, she had no hope of evading or fighting back.

"You won't touch her."

Sakura heard the ring of gunfire and his statement as he flickered in front of her.

"Abel…" She stammered as she collapsed back.

His arm wrapped around her, pulling her close as he knelt down to better support her. Sakura reached up suddenly, her palm resting against his cheek. She smiled weakly, "I never betrayed you."

Guilt rose up in Abel so intensely it was a physical pain, "I know."

Sakura's smile strengthened somewhat as he leaned down. His glasses shifted down over the bridge of his nose and his bare eyes met her emerald green orbs.

"Can you ever forgive me?" He asked.

"There's nothing to forgive," She replied.

Tears ran down his face, splashing onto her face. And she had tears to match.

"Abel…I'm not…a monster…right?" She suddenly sobbed.

"No!" He replied before his voice softened, "You are as far from a monster as someone could be."

"Cain…he…he told me…I was…a Day Walker…a vampire…" She replied brokenly.

"Then you're the most wonderful vampire I've ever know," He responded.

Sakura found more comfort in that statement than she knew she should have. But she didn't feel alone. She felt like she belonged, for the first time in what seemed like a long time, no matter how short it had been in actuality.

"I'm sorry…you're nothing like him… _nothing,_ " Sakura replied.

Abel hesitated; he wanted to agree with her, to brush his behavior under the rug of her easy forgiveness. But that would be wrong. He had let emotion take hold of him, and threw logic out the window far too easily. Admittedly, it was _easier_ to lose himself in Crusnik form, but that was far from a suitable explanation, let alone an outright excuse. He knew better. He  _was_ better. 

"No, I was. For a moment, maybe, but I was," He replied.

Sakura just smiled at him, her pardon written in her eyes. It was behind them, now, she realized, and they had something to look forward to.

"What…what made you…?"

"Remember?" He asked, smiling sadly, "My back was unguarded. You could have killed me, you chose not to."

"Speaking of which…" He added as he craned his neck to glimpse the lacerations on hers.

Sakura winced at the slight jar on her wounds, her hand twisting in his jacket automatically. The wounds weren't bad, but they were in an awkward place and were undoubtedly painful.

"Can you manage?" He asked.

"Always."

He was just moving to help her when she caught his hand.

"Why are the Fleur de Mal attacking?" She asked, suddenly serious.

"Intelligence suggests it's a random act of violence…"

"But you know better." 

Abel's eyes flashed knowingly as he said, "They're killing only humans…this would be the perfect opportunity for the radicals in the Methuselah Ghetto to side with them and overthrow Es…the Queen. Rome is weak right now and can't render full scale aid. The Empire is too far away."

"How far into the city have they pushed?" She asked.

"Too far," He replied.

"You have to go, Abel, and protect her."

"But you…"

"I'll cover you," Sakura replied as she forced herself up.

He nodded as he righted himself, glancing at her once before he took off in the opposite direction. Sakura smiled at him, watching him fade into the dark background, her eyes darting about for any sign of trouble. She knew she wouldn't be able to cover him for long. Adrenaline and chakra would only get her so far, and exhaustion was creeping in fast. She also didn't know if she could risk chakra on her wounds, not with the very real prospect of potentially having to fend off an attack.

Gritting her teeth, she turned on her heel and followed after him.

* * *

Sakura leapt up, kicking off of a wall and rebounding off of the brick wall of a department store across the street. Using the momentum of her movement, she flipped herself over, bringing her foot down on the back of the Methuselah closing in on Abel. In the same motion, she crouched, bringing her hand to the Methuselah's throat and compressing the arteries just long enough to knock her out. She had the presence of mind to disarm her, using the confiscated dagger a moment as another vampire crept from the shadow. She cried out a single warning, both to Abel and the Methuselah, before she drew her arm back and snapped the dagger at the male vampire. He was fast, though, and managed to avoid what would have been a crippling, though far from fatal, wound. However, it gave Abel time to put some valuable distance between him and the next wave.

* * *

Abel fought his way past the scant Methuselah that had managed to infiltrate the palace. From there, it was a short sprint up the spiral stairs to her office. The door had been barred, and, at one point, partially broken in. But he saw no one else down either adjacent hall. With a single powerful kick, he tore the door from the hinges.

"Esther!" He cried as he charged into the room.

"Father Nightroad!" She cried from the opposite corner of the room.

His eyes flickered to her…to the Methuselah holding her.

"Don't move, _Father,_ " The vampire hissed.

"I would highly suggest following your own advice," A blade came down across the vampire's throat. No matter how quickly he moved, she would have the upper hand.

The Methuselah hissed, tightening his grip on the Queen. Sakura pressed her advantage, depressing the blade until a thin line of blood appeared.

"Release her," Sakura demanded.

"You're wounded…why didn't I smell you sooner?" The vampire hissed.

Sakura blanched visibly at this deduction, but he didn't see her falter, so she maintained her upper hand.

"I _said_ ' _release_ _her_ '!" Sakura responded, her free hand hovering above his spine. If he didn't comply…she would have to kill him. The Methuselah growled once, his grip loosening. He eventually released her, stepping to the side, Sakura shadowing him from behind.

Esther, stunned, hesitated for a moment before sprinting across the room. Sakura sighed in relief, and in that fraction of a second the Methuselah had snapped a high kick, disarming her. The shock was acute, and she didn't react fast enough to avoid his follow through. In an instant, he had her pinned. The blow to her collarbone was more than enough to wind her, and before she could recover, he had Esther back in his possession. Sakura cursed as she tried to catch her breath. She saw Abel's eyes flash the way they did when he was angry, and she knew it was already over.

"Esther…" He glanced at her, his gaze suddenly a little _too_ soft. "I'm sorry."

Sakura averted her eyes as he muttered the command, the air becoming charged with the sudden electrical output. A moment later, it stilled and her eyes flitted upwards. If he moved, she needed to be ready to come from behind with some support. Her green eyes locked with his crimson ones for an instant before she gave a barely perceptible nod. He didn't need to respond. There was a flash of red, a high arc of blood, and the clatter of metal against the tile. The Methuselah was too stunned to feel the pain, apparently, of the loss of the amputated limb. But his alarm was clear.

Abel spoke, "Leave, now, and I won't harm you further."

That clearly broke something in the vampire. With a cry of rage, he tossed the Albion queen aside and charged the Crusnik. Abel sighed in acknowledgement of his choice, leveled his gaze, and snapped his scythe out. Sakura closed her eyes a moment before the blade made impact. She didn't look back, either, as she helped Esther to her feet.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Sakura asked

Esther pulled away, her cobalt blue eyes flashing as she raised an accusing finger to Abel and screamed, "Monster!"

The allegation was punctuated by the sudden slap of flesh on flesh. Abel's eyes widened, the fire behind them dying suddenly as they flickered back to cerulean.

"How. _Dare_. You." Sakura hissed as she lowered her hand back to her side before hoisting the young queen up by her collar, "He just saved your _life_!"

"Sakura," Abel intoned, his attempt at appeasement shot down very rapidly as Sakura snapped. "How dare you!" And just as quickly, she had dropped the queen back on the tile.

"I'm sorry, Esther," Abel stated as Sakura pushed her way out of the room. "We won't trouble you again."

The red-haired girl didn't respond.

* * *

"She'll probably have me arrested…" Sakura grumbled to herself as she stepped out of the building.

"Esther? No," Abel replied with a smile despite the circumstances.

Sakura gave a resigned sigh as she sat down on the edge of the curb. Abel took a seat beside her, ruffling her hair good-naturedly.

"Hey!" Sakura cried in mock protest, her smile betraying the illusion.

"We really should get back to work," Abel said after a moment.

"I know, I know…Methuselah to stop, world to save, I'm on it," Sakura replied as she stood up and stretched tentatively, trying not to tear the dried blood over the wounds in her back.

Abel just exhaled in a sound of pleasant agreement.

"You know, it was probably a bad idea to leave her alone," Sakura snorted.

"She'll be fine," Abel assured her. "By now, the back-up guards are raiding her office."

"Then I don't feel so bad for dropping her," Sakura replied evenly.

Abel didn't smile; he was too busy critically eyeing her back. When he didn't reply, Sakura turned to face him. The day was written on his face, she realized with some alarm. He looked more than just tired…it was the kind of fatigue only emotion could wrought so effectively. His usual, careful appearance had also disturbed, giving him an even more shaken look. Ironically enough, he was thinking the same of her. Her eyes were still red, her face flushed in a splotchy scarlet from crying. The torn cloth of her shirt, so blood-stained the original color was impossible to decipher, hung in tatters off of her frame, giving her a rather waif-like appearance.

"Um…Abel?"

He snapped out of his reverie, "Yes?"

"Uh…never mind," Sakura replied as she started off in the opposite direction.

Abel quietly followed after her.

* * *

Sakura should have realized they would, of course, but once the Queen was safe, the Fleur de Mal beat a hasty retreat out of Albion. Not that that was much comfort for the two tired operatives.

"Honestly," Sakura huffed. "If you're going to invade, stay around long enough to be destroyed."

"If only it were that simple," Abel replied whimsically.

"Just wait until I get my hands on them and then it _will_ be that simple."

"Optimistic, I see," Abel smiled with an incline of his head.

"More like pissed off," Sakura responded.

"Well, I suppose that's as good a substitute."

"I thought you were a priest."

"And _technically_ you're a nun."

"Touché."

Sakura hoped he would say something else rather than give them a chance to fall into their own private thoughts. Sadly, he didn't and she found herself mentally smacking herself for appearing so weak in front him. A sobbing, injured female…oh, yeah…that just _screamed_ equal-especially to someone that far her senior. Abel, on the other hand, was just kicking himself over the whole ordeal. He really wanted it to make it up to her, but how was he supposed to fix such a big 'ouch'? She had already forgiven him…but he hadn't forgiven himself by a long shot. In fact, he had a feeling that, given an additional nine hundred years, he would still be regretting his actions.

"Uh…Abel…?" Sakura stammered.

"Yes?"

"Oh, uh, well then, Abel…I just…back there…just…don't get any ideas." She finally snapped.

"Oh, well, I wasn't going to," He assured her.

"Well, then, we're…fine?"

"I think so," He replied easily.

Sakura sighed in relief as they continued walking. The sun was just starting to come up behind them, and she realized just how late it was, or early…But either way, she reasoned, it had been time well spent. 

"I'm tired," She stated as she stretched.

"It has been a long night," Abel sighed.

"Thank God it's over," She replied quietly.

"Yes, indeed."

They both turned to the blond as he walked up, tucking a handkerchief in his pocket before adjusting the cuff of his sleeve.

"I'm glad to see you two have reconciled," Virgil stated.

Sakura blushed as she nodded, Abel responding similarly.

Virgil just smiled, "Why don't you two rest today and you can begin home tomorrow."

"You know, I believe that's the best idea I've heard all day," Abel replied.

TBC


	16. Blood and Lace

_**Chapter Sixteen: Blood and Lace** _

_**Disclaimer: Trinity Blood and Naruto are soooooooo not mine!** _

"That won't be a problem," He assured Dietrich.

"Good," The Marionettenspieler replied. "Mein Herr doesn't appreciate setbacks."

The dark figure eyed him severely before turning away, his eyes flashing. He had done worse, this would be simple. After all, this was the life he had chosen. He had said he would give up everything, and he meant _everything_ for this one, singular goal. Konoha was gone. Wiped from the earth like the plague it was. Now he just had to clean up the lingering ghosts. 

* * *

Sakura kicked her legs freely over the edge of the rooftop, gazing into the starry night. A streak of thin white swept across the velvet expanse, coloring the sky above her in an almost metallic sheen. Like Abel's hair and his eyes. She stopped her train of thought. It was too easy for it to lead down a different road. 

"It was very generous of Caterina to put us up in Albion for a few days," He remarked.

Sakura choked back a cold retort that had to do with Esther and simply nodded, "It was."

Neither stated their dual wonder about how she talked the funds out of the church with Rome in ruins and an active campaign for the Orden underway. After all, Caterina could be very…loving in her own way.

They lapsed back into silence, staring into the sky again for no other reason than it was a thoughtless task. It required nothing emotionally, physically, or spiritually and that was definitely a very nice reprieve from the trauma of the past several days. Not that they had spoken much of it since the very awkward confession between them in the heat of battle. (But, then again, who was to say the heat of battle wasn't the time to make a passionate statement?)

"It's really pretty out tonight," Sakura muttered.

"True," Abel replied.

Sakura was just about to make another comment when a flicker of familiar chakra danced across her skin. Her breath froze in her throat, her eyes widening at the sensation. For a moment, she didn't dare to move…was it possible her mind was playing tricks with her? No…it was…it was _his_ chakra.

"Sasuke!" She cried out, snapping up before she could stop herself.

"Sakura," Abel's hand came down on her shoulder, momentarily bringing her back to her senses.

"I…I'm sorry…I…I have to go," She hastily stammered out before dropping herself down into the alley below them.

Sakura took off running the moment her feet hit the ground, her footsteps echoing far too loudly for a properly trained kunoichi. But the sheer relief was so tremendous she hardly recognized or questioned anything else as she sprinted along the streets. Vaulting herself up over the last hurtle, she found herself facing his back. The shock of his actually being there stilled her for a moment. He was…alive. He, too, halted for a moment, sparing a glance over his shoulder. In the moonlight, she couldn't distinguish the color of his eyes and therefore his potential perception of her; that was disconcerting to say the least, but that fact barely registered in the current of other feelings that suddenly rose up.

"Sasuke!" She cried out finally, sighing as he turned to look at her, "I'm so happy you're…you're alive."

To her confusion, his hand fell against the Kusanagi blade. The audible draw of the katana only solidified her uncertainty; what was he doing?

"They hadn't told me you'd be here," He stated simply.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

She didn't see him move, only felt his hand materialize on her shoulder and the icy blade fall lightly across her neck.

"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded, fear coloring her voice more than anger.

He snorted in disdain as if the answer should have been obvious.

"Sasuke," She hissed in response.

"What have I always been after?" He finally growled.

"Revenge," She spat.

"Precisely." She could literally see his lips turning up with his silky statement.

"Sasuke, he...they are probably dead. This is your chance, your chance to start over."

"Why would I do that?" He asked scornfully.

"Because you're a human! Not some shadow of graceless vengeance!" She yelled.

"How would you know?" He asked.

"I've lost my family now, too," She replied waspishly.

"Not to your blood, not to the _Village_."

Sakura hissed in annoyance at the statement; there was the family you were born with and the family you chose and she had lost both, potentially to the one person who she might have trusted above all others: Tsunade. The person who had seen the woman in Sakura when she was still a girl and who had equipped her with the tools necessary to make her a shinobi worthy of her title.

"What are you doing, Sasuke?" She finally asked.

He knew exactly what she was talking about, "Getting my revenge."

"Against a dead man?"

"He's not dead."

"And who are you getting your information from?" Sakura asked, smirking because she already knew the answer.

"Mein Herr."

"Since when were you bound to any lord?" She snorted disdainfully.

"I don't expect you to understand."

"You never expected anyone to."

"Because you can't."

"Difficult to tell if you won't let me try, isn't it?"

He lapsed into silence, his chakra spiking tangibly.

"I need power," He finally replied.

"And you've already proven you'd sell your soul for it."

"How would you know?" He hissed.

"I'm not the girl you left behind before," She responded evenly.

"You really are annoying."

"Finally run out of good answers, I see."

"Don't push your luck with me."

"I know, the great Uchiha clan, renowned for strength and grace…or at least they were."

Sakura knew she had pushed it far beyond the invisible line in the sand, but the words had just slipped out. Confusion and relief had long been replaced with anger. She couldn't best him in a fight, so she would best him where it hurt; the wounds Itachi had opened so many years before. He had never gotten close enough to her to know her fears and her private failures, so he had nothing with which to strike back. The pressure on her throat increased slightly and she felt a tendril of warm blood seep down the small, scalpel-like laceration. It was hardly even a wound, but a clear silent warning. That didn't stop her, though; he had played with her and now she was playing back.

"I touched a nerve I see," She hissed.

Anko would have been proud of her prodding. She tried not to think of her short lessons with the woman without a pang of hurt. 

"Shut up," He demanded evenly.

"Make me."

"Insolent little girl."

"You wish," She snorted, "Because that means you could control me. But you can't, and you know it, Sasuke."

If anything, the use of his name seemed to wound him privately and he exhaled in a slight hiss that she might expect if she was swabbing a wound with alcohol. It was a pained sound, held with bravery and determination, but pained nonetheless.

"What did he promise you?"

"Power," He replied.

Sakura rolled her eyes, not that he would see the gesture with his chest pressed against her back the way it was. "We've seen how well those vague promises work out."

She didn't need to say Orochimaru's name to have the effect she wanted. He already knew that much.

"I know more than you think."

"And I know more than you'd like to believe," She snapped back automatically.

"You want to know what he promised me?" He hissed darkly.

She didn't dignify him with a response. She was too far ahead of him now to let him force her into that kind of back-pedal. But nonetheless he continued, "A body powerful enough to defeat him."

"Nothing Orochimaru didn't promise you or that you couldn't accomplish on your own," She stated plainly.

"I've waited as long as I can."

"And what seems to press you for time?"

He didn't reply. That sent chills down her spine; he wouldn't not respond with _something_ unless he risked something greater. Something was up…and he knew what it was. But she wouldn't be able to get it out of him, she already knew that. However, now she'd know to be on the lookout.

"Release her."

Sakura's eyes widened as the click of a revolver being cocked fill the all-too-still night air. Sasuke's chakra dropped a fraction of a measure, a sure sign he had been caught off guard. Sakura rotated hard on her left heel, twisting her body to guard her throat as she snapped her elbow up at his cheek. He ducked below both of them, sweeping their legs out from under them in the same motion. Sakura caught herself going down and was able to right herself immediately, but Abel fell much harder and much more awkwardly. In the split second that her attention was minimally directed to him, Sasuke had already materialized on the next roof over. He didn't say anything, merely eyed them severely before vanishing again into the night. Sakura cursed under her breath; he was gone, that much was sure. And he was moving far too fast now for her to track him. That was disturbing as well, because it left the distinct possibility that he might have _wanted_ her to find him before. Why, she didn't know, but she couldn't rule it out as a potential scenario.

"Who was that?" Abel asked, righting himself beside her and cutting into her thoughts.

Sakura opened her mouth and then hesitated. How did she explain this one? He was her former paramour? No, because technically she and Abel weren't even really lovers and Sasuke had never been her lover in the physical sense, but he was a lot like her opposite half in every way…her teammate? No, that made it sound like she wanted to have something to do with him now and comrade was the same. He was a friend? No…he might have been, but now she had no choice but to consider him the enemy.

"Someone I used to know," She replied, thinking all the while, ' _Someone I might have to kill and someone who I might still love. Someone who is now my responsibility_.'

* * *

Sasuke, for all his supposed and often proven strength and prowess, was far more delicate than any civilian in Konoha, barring perhaps the frailest child. But his weakness lay in the delicate veil of sanity that wavered dangerously over the powerful undertow of his psyche. He really was very much still a little boy; one who lacked the ability to interact openly and socially, who didn't know how to verbalize what he was feeling, and who very much blamed himself for what others did. He felt, though he would never admit it, even to himself, that if he killed Itachi he was merely righting a wrong that he himself had committed. He felt that, as the frightened boy he was in his heart, if he did this, he would be forgiven for whatever he had done to make Itachi do what he did.

But children were easily misled and the very word 'power' invoked images of grandeur and the like. And it was much worse now that he had the mental capacity of a man and the body to match. So, in essence, he was a child capable of killing without feeling attached to the act of any kind. That might have been the most frightening thing about him: At the very least, some felt a visceral pleasure in striking those final blows, and some felt guilt and others felt sadness for the fact that it had to be…but for him, there was nothing. Nothing but the void where his under-developed sense of emotion was covered by the veneer of a world-weary adult.

* * *

"You really should stop running off alone," Abel commented quietly.

Sakura felt a flash of rage before she could beat herself back down. He was right, of course, that was why she felt so defensive. But…it wasn't that he couldn't understand, but that she didn't _want_ him that close…not yet. Perhaps, had the night gone differently, she might have even chanced a kiss. But it hadn't and now all she felt was drained.

If… _if_ the world was as radically different as it seemed now, none of the people she'd loved and trusted might be worth those feelings anymore. But regardless of worth, she didn't know how to make herself stop feeling the feelings she had for them. If it did come down to a battle against them, she already knew she would fight to the death; that wasn't a question. But who would she be when she came out from that? That thought scared her and sadly there was no comfort. True, she could turn to Abel, tell him everything, and he would probably have a solution, or at least some silly line that would make her see things a bit more clearly. It would be easy to open up to him, it always was. But that didn't mean it was right. Tsunade had made her into a woman capable of standing on her own, to do less than that when it wasn't absolutely necessary was a great disrespect to her master…assuming, of course, her master wasn't the one she might be standing against-a very real possibility, it seemed. And what about Naruto, Kakashi, Yamato…any number of those who might be alive and who might not be who she thought they were. How many of them, she wondered, had known all of this and never said a word. Worse, how many _had_ said something and were simply never heard from again?

She shook her head tiredly as if she could really clear her thoughts with that gesture. But it didn't help. She sighed, her hand pulling absently but aggressively at the hem of her shirt in a futile attempt at distraction.

It seemed the world had come down to two things: the fragile veneer of lace that covered the slick of blood waiting just below the surface. The politics and the manners and the formalities were just a thin pall that lay over the violence that was necessary and soon to escalate.

* * *

Caterina drummed her nails lightly against the wooden armrest of her chair as she listened to the Methuselah representatives plead their own cases and theories as to what their next move should be against the Orden, or, in some cases, whether or not to move at all. Really, it was as much their battle as the Vatican's.

"The situation stands," Astha replied waspishly to one of her of colleagues.

The Duchess of Damascus sighed, opening her fan and lilting it to her face.

"This is a battle for the Vatican," A baron replied.

"Unfortunately, it isn't," Ion Fortuna, Earl of Memphis, stated angrily.

"Agreed," Baybars added curtly.

A giggle, of all things, rose from the background, garnering the attention of the room. The blonde from whom the flirty noise had risen stood up, batting her large eyes playfully.

"None of this matters," she giggled. "If our Mother does not approve. After all, as children, who are we to simply enter war? Let children dabble not in the ways of adults"

Astha didn't know whether she wanted to hug or slap Mirka Fortuna, Duchess of Moldova. But she was right. Without the Empress' explicit consent, no one was going anywhere. However, the debate was soon to be settled as an attractive girl not much more than eleven in appearance took center stage in a flounce of lace and ribbons.

"My children," She began fondly. "How can we do anything other than enter this struggle. For this world is as much ours as it is theirs." Her hand wafted delicately towards the three Vatican leaders.

Cardinal Francesco clearly did not like the idea of siding with a Methuselah. And as willing as he was to sacrifice others, he was not so eager to offer himself. Caterina, his equal in position, just smiled back at the gracious woman. And the Pope, unsure of how to react lest he upset either sibling, just fidgeted in his chair.

"And how, Your Majesty, do you propose we begin?" Caterina asked politely without losing her own steel.

The Empress turned to Mirka, waiving her along.

"I believe the covert operations must be undertaken from which information will be gathered," Mirka stated, before smiling. "And which have already been completed, Your Highness."

"Lovely work," The Empress replied. "As always."

"However, the news is less than pleasant," Mirka stated, suddenly grave. "There is a spy in our ranks."

Instinctively, individual sets of eyes roved over the mass as the fear and the tremendous danger pressed in around them.

"Who?" Augusta demanded.

"That we do not know," The Duchess Moldova replied.

* * *

"Abel, I'm starting to think maybe we should cut this short and get to the Empire," Sakura stated as they walked.

Abel pondered it for a moment before realizing he desperately wanted to get back to Caterina and the other operatives, as well. It felt wrong to be sitting uselessly in Albion while the others were out fighting an all-out war.

"Let's leave tonight," He suggested.

"Perfect," Sakura replied with more glee than she actually felt; she didn't need him hovering.

TBC


	17. Of Mice and Methuselah

 

 

 

_**Chapter Seventeen: Of Mice and Methuselah** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood!** _

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief the moment they stepped off of the airship and onto Methuselah soil. She couldn't wait to be back in the presence of her colleagues and friends. She had felt decisively wrong since her run in with Sasuke, or the Uchiha has she began to refer to him, if only for the emotional distance, and she just wanted some normalcy again. Well, as much normalcy as she could gather when her job revolved around vampires and a terrorist organization whose motto was "The world shall be reborn with fire." Abel, likewise, was relieved to be back where is commander was. With so much uncertainty, it was nice to have Caterina standing fast for them. There was a reason she was the Woman of Iron. And that thought was enough to bring a smile to his face.

* * *

_Caterina_ , what a delightful name and title to match, nodded in agreement as Mirka spoke. It was a good plan, she thought, too bad it would never work. With that, the Cardinal beckoned a serving girl over and asked for a glass of water. It wasn't easy sitting in those heavy robes for a long period of time, especially with their dark crimson color.

The girl smiled knowingly as she disappeared back through the chamber doors.

* * *

The embassy was a nightmare and getting worse. Every Empire ally they has was ensconced in Chamber and couldn't be disturbed. And for some reason their Vatican passes were being scrutinized.  

"What do you mean?" Sakura demanded angrily, her fist balling at her side.

"You aren't listed among the operatives under Lady Caterina Sforza," The Methuselah replied more slowly, as if that would help her understand.

"I assure you," Abel stated as he stepped between the fuming woman and the annoyed vampire. "That there must be a mistake."

"And _I_ assure you that there is not," The attendant snapped. "Now leave before I'm forced to call security."

Sakura stepped away only a few feet and only then because Abel gave a direct order to. Leaning down next to her, he whispered a few sentences, to which she replied with a very gentle nod of her head. Abel smiled, stepping back over to the attendant under the pretext of apologizing for his fiery charge. But he quickly engaged him in a conversation over the palace, the Empire, The Empress, really anything as Sakura quietly slipped past them.

Sakura quickly located a key panel down a nearby hallway and searched for Lady Caterina. It came up with an agenda for the day, the titles she held, and her room number: 569. Sakura, glancing around, keyed out of the search and got her bearings. The room beside the panel was conference room 423. That meant Caterina's room was on the next floor up. She quickly made her way to it, dodging Methuselah left and right and trying to remember the pages of conduct codes she had memorized. Apparently she did well because none of them turned on her and few even seemed impressed. The last one was a bit close for comfort, though. She had just located the Cardinal's room when an older noble stepped by. Her position as a Terran female dictated she bow to him first, rise, and allow him to either ignore or acknowledge her. She was hoping for the former when he did the latter. She prattled back as if she was a silly girl, bid him good-bye, and waited for him to disappear down the hall before she extracted several pins she kept in her hair at all times.

Straightening them, she picked the lock, being careful not to set off the alarm. A moment later, it clicked satisfactorily and she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. Caterina's room was a mess, quite unusual for the Cardinal. Stepping lightly across the papers strewn on the floor, Sakura went to the desk and quickly inspected the papers there. She found only two that meant anything to her and it was a list of Caterina's own operatives. But her name and Abel's were crossed off in red ink. Beside it was a schedule of the day's events, one of them was checked in red: the ten-thirty appointment with the Methuselah Council.

Sakura glanced at the clock. It was ten-fifteen.

She quickly replaced the papers, stepped out of the room, and informed Abel she was out.

* * *

"Oh, my, look at the time!" Abel stated suddenly. "I really must be going."

He hadn't even stepped outside before Sakura began relaying him the small amount of information she had found. And it definitely sounded suspicious. Red was a high conserved color. The ink was very expensive to produce. 

"We have to get into those chambers."

"I'm working on it. But what do you suggest we do? We're not on the roster," Sakura replied.

"Just get in. Don't worry, I have a plan."

* * *

Caterina smiled as the clock ticked past ten twenty-eight. Her water glass was pressed into her hand by the attendant, who smiled knowingly before slipping back behind the Cardinal. She mumbled something over the rim of the glass, her lips pulling up even further as the final seconds past.

And then there was only silence, the void, followed by an explosion that spiraled outward. Flames roared through the rows of Terran representatives, the blast shaking the entire palace.

* * *

"You have to let us in!" Sakura cried to the guards, who leveled their weapons at her.

But a moment later a tremor shook the building as the door behind them was ripped from its hinged and flung at them. Sakura, seeing it coming, easily ducked under it and sprinted into the destroyed Council hall, Abel not far behind her.

"Caterina!" Abel cried, spying her broken body not far from them.

It was pandemonium: some of the Methuselah had begun attacking the remaining Terran members, and they were screaming it was a vampire trick. There was so much blood on the ground beneath them that those who tried to run slipped in it. Debris dropped unpredictably from the ceiling, and small fires still burned throughout the room. Instinctively, Sakura's eyes found the Pope. Thankfully, though he was scared to death, he seemed unharmed in the physical sense. She didn't see Francesco, though.

She sprinted to Abel's side, her hand coming down on Cardinal Sforza's chest. There was no heartbeat, no brain function, no pulse of any kind beneath her hands. Astha screamed above the din, calling for silence and for the logic of her comrades. Some responded by lowering their weapons and rallying to her, others didn't. It wasn't until the sudden entry of Cardinal Francesco that the violence came to an end. However, Sakura didn't like the way they had automatically divided, humans on the right, vampires on the left…like they were lined up for battle. And she didn't like that the Inquisition was there, either.

"Vampire treachery!" He cried, his men gathering around him to guard him. "This means war!"

"We will strike you where you stand!" A baron replied as he hefted his weapon. Astha swung a hard left with her own, forcing his downward.

The Empress appeared among her own people, proclaiming she would give them twelve hours to evacuate her city if their declaration stood.

"Traitorous monster!" The Cardinal yelled back.

Astha bared her fangs, growling as the men and women behind her moved to attack. _No one_ insulted their Mother. But the Empress stayed them, ordering them back. Sakura's heart fluttered weakly in her chest; this was what Rozenkreuz wanted! How could they so easily fall into that trap! Sakura, thinking perhaps she could do something to revive the Cardinal, leaned down against her and pressed her hands against her abdomen. Stage One: Isolation of the injury-massive shock trauma and electrical burns on the skin. Stage Two: Body Composition-each person's body was different. To heal them, Sakura had to interface with their body and work with it. That meant she needed to run down its chemical compositions, organic ratios, and the like. And in doing so she found something very alarming.

A build up of potassium…

'This…this isn't right…levels like that don't appear until somewhere around… _twelve hours after death._ '

She sprang up, screaming, "This is not Cardinal Sforza!"

Francesco turned on her with a predatory eye, "Caterina had you two blacklisted as traitors and deserters this very morning."

"What?!" Abel demanded.

"Arrest them!" Francesco cried.

Sakura glanced up helplessly; what was happening? Abel's eyes told her everything…he didn't know. And a moment later they were roughly secured and dragged from the chamber.

The Empress moved to stop them, but what could she do? Her brother was under the Vatican's authority. And if she revealed their relationship now, he would be executed on the spot by the vampire-haters of the Inquisition.

* * *

Sakura cried out as Abel was thrown in a cell aboard one of the ships; though, naturally, it wasn't _Iron Maiden_. This was an Inquisition airship. And it was clearly equipped for taking care of those they deemed to be a threat or unclean. The cells were filthy, torture devices were strewn everywhere, and that hateful glare of their soon-to-be tortures was searing even through their hoods. She fought back, struggling hard as they shoved Abel into chains. But it was no use and a moment later she found herself in the next cell, chains with some kind of metal she hadn't encountered before. However, it made it impossible to build up chakra in her body…

"Abel!" She cried as she pushed herself against the bars that formed on wall of both cells. He responded similarly, taking her hand in his as she laced it through the grate. His arm came around and held her as best he could with the wall separating them.

* * *

It was six hours after the initial blast the corpse labeled Caterina Sforza was stolen from the morgue aboard one of the Inquisition ships.

No autopsy had yet been preformed.

* * *

"You won't get away with this."

It was a statement of fact. It wasn't even angry or impassioned, it simply _was_.

"We already have," Kaspar replied with sinister glee as he leaned in to smirk at the Cardinal. "Your brother was kind enough to declare war today."

Caterina felt fear for the first time, but neither her eyes nor her body betrayed her. She remained outwardly strong. Her back was straight, her shoulders level, her head up. This seemed to amuse Kaspar and he continued, "It was easy to take your face, though you body was a bit more difficult." He accented this by briefly taking the façade of her own face, "And then all I had to do was tell that little girl and that bumbling priest to stay in Albion for a few days, to relax. They took it at face value. With no contact, they couldn't have known I was ordering them listed as traitors. I hadn't counted on them showing up, true, but I believe the Inquisition will take care of them for me."

He leaned down, running his fingertips across her jaw as he smirked, "And it was all thanks to your face."

Caterina stared straight ahead.

* * *

"Abel," Sakura whispered over the din of the executioners sharpening weapons, "We have to get out of here."

He just nodded.

"Can you?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, but…it won't be pretty."

He would need to use his Crusnik mode. Sakura tried to back-pedal in her mind. How many days had it been since he had fed off a vampire? Four or five, at least…

"What activation?" She asked.

He hesitated for a moment as he thought it over. If he had been alone, forty percent would have been about right. However, if he wanted to guarantee her safety as well, he would need to ramp it up to eighty percent.

"Eighty," He replied.

Sakura turned her back to the open face of the cell as she threaded her wrist through the bars.

"Hurry," She hissed as she did.

"What?" He asked in horror.

"Look, you, above all, need to get out. You can stop this war," She replied. "Besides, I'm a vampire, remember? I'm your natural prey."

He nodded as he pushed himself as far into the shadows of the cell as he could before shifting to his forty-percent activation. A moment later, Sakura felt the pinprick of his fangs against the inside of her wrist.

"Listen, the body that was disguised as Lady Caterina's was more than twelve hours old and it didn't show signs of Dietrich's control in the central nervous system, only the skin. Someone living was on that throne and somehow swapped out in the chaos of the blast. Whoever is was had to use Haste." Sakura said as he fed.

"There's a good chance," Sakura concluded as he pulled away. "That she's alive."

Abel nodded, his scythe glittering just behind him in the darkness. His eyes shone red for a moment, and suddenly the bars between them had been severed. A fraction of a second later, the side of the airship had been laid open.

"Go," He stated, covering her as she latched onto the edge of the metal frame, now exposed, and flipped herself onto the side of the ship. Using the rough canvas that covered most of the ship for hand holds she found herself on the level top of it within a few minutes.

And she found herself facing Brother Petro Orcini, the Knight of Destruction. That meant that Lady Death couldn't be far behind.

"Return to our custody, Sister, and we will be lenient," He stated, leveling his Screamer at her.

"No," She replied.

"Then I have no choice," He responded as he lunged at her.

Sakura spun to the left, side-stepping him easily as the Screamer burrowed into the canvas of the ship. In the same motion, she jumped up in a side scissor kick that sent him flying back.

"I don't want to hurt you," She stated as he attempted to right himself. "But I will if you continue to press me."

He didn't reply as he swung the Screamer at her again. Sakura easily leapt over it, spinning to land another kick to his chest. She rotated again, landing a second, third, and fourth blow to him in quick succession. She was just about to give him the same offer when she felt a blade press against her kidneys.

"Lady Death," She stated as her eyes flickered back to the woman.

"Stand down," Paula replied.

Sakura sighed privately as she gave the physical appearance of surrender, but it only took a split second to build her chakra. She pivoted on her heel, landing a devastating back-hand to the woman's cheek. But Petro was on her just as quickly. Paula, rising back up, thought disdainfully that that was the first time someone had bested her in the initial blow. But, this meant she could have some fun. As Sakura leapt back from the Screamer, she found herself fending off Paula's blade. Using the guard of her boot, she snapped a high kick against the crescent blade, jumping up as Petro drove his lance at her foot. Coming down, she pinned the weapon as she locked Paula's free wrist. The female tossed her, hooking her leg under her ankle and toppling Sakura. The kunoichi didn't fight the momentum of the attack and used it to flip back onto her feet. She ducked under the Screamer, kicking up to disarm Paula's right hand. Redirecting the impetus of the defensive maneuver, she landed another kick to Petro. But as she did, Paula's left blade came across her back. Sakura reeled on her, bringing her arm against the woman's and snapping her elbow with a swift blow of her palm. She also brought the leg up, breaking Paula's forearm on her right side.

"DIE!"

Sakura turned on Petro as he swung his lance down at her. Sakura's arms came across her instinctively, catching the lance just above the rotating tip in a cross-guard. However, the weapon was so long that to maintain the guard, she had duck her head left and drop her shoulder, significantly weakening the movement. Paula, seeing her chance, flung her free blade at the girl. Sakura saw it coming in her peripherals and managed a clumsy evasion by rolling to the left in an awkward somersault. She extended her leg, catching the weapon between the dual blades and kicking it up into her hands. She glanced briefly at Petro, detected a small weakness in his armor, and tossed the blade at his face. Instinctively, he hefted the Screamer up to guard himself and Sakura dove in beneath him. Her knee collided with his, driven by just enough chakra to break it cleanly. She also brought her palm up, a chakra scalpel sinking through the armor and nicking his liver and spleen. She didn't want to kill him, only incapacitate him. As he went down, Sakura kicked the Screamer from his hands. Spinning, she caught it as she rose back on her feet and stepped away.

"Sorry, but I warned you," Sakura said as she tossed the weapon over the side of the airship. "Those injuries will heal well. You'll fight again."

Abel appeared behind her a moment later. His clothing was tattered, but he appeared unharmed.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice deeper than she was used to it being. Then again, when you had black angel wings and a scythe of crystallized blood, she doubted many would notice the voice.

"I'm fine," She replied. "They will be, too." She added, glancing at the fallen members of the Inquisition.

"Good," He stated as he lifted her with his free arm.

It was a silent demand that they needed to get going. He had taken out their communications system, but it wouldn't be long before other members of the Inquisition were on top of them. Worse, it wouldn't be long before they had whole ships out looking for him. He had officially been labeled a 'monster on the last radio call. Not that the call had gotten out of the ship. True, he could destroy entire cities with the snap of his fingers, but it would be annoying and a serious hindrance to have to deal with the Inquisition's ships.

He had just settled her against his chest when she turned back to the two warriors and said, "I really _am_ sorry."

And with that, Abel rose into the cover of the clouds hanging several hundred feet above the airship.

* * *

"Maybe I should have just knocked them out…"

Abel glanced down at her. She had been debating the fight for over an hour, mostly to herself. But her guilt was apparent.

"No, its best you injured them," He replied.

"Abel!" She cried back in surprise.

"They would have hunted us until you or I had," He responded.

Sakura didn't reply, but her eyes told him she privately had to agree with his statement.

They lapsed into silence for a moment before Abel commented, "You feel feverish."

She did. Her skin was much hotter against his than it should have been for the altitude he was traveling at. And she was shaking.

"Oh, I'm just keeping myself warm," She replied.

He looked down at her skeptically.

She sighed with a smile before explaining, "To keep my core body temperature the same, I'm heating the blood in my limbs, so when it gets re-circulated, it's the appropriate temperature."

"I see," He replied throatily.

Sakura just shrugged, though her eyes didn't leave him. For a moment, he wondered if she really did view him as a monster…especially in his current form.

"Are you…alright?" He finally asked.

"Just a little freaked over the height thing," She replied, her hand twisting preemptively in the remnants of his jacket.

"I apologize," He replied. "We should be able to land soon."

"Whatever it takes," She said, "To avoid the Inquisition, I'm willing to do."

He just smiled.

It seemed like an eternity before they were back on solid ground and Abel was back to his 'usual' self.

"How on earth are we going to find her?" Sakura asked as Abel tied back his silvery hair.

"Caterina would never leave the Vatican without this," He said as he held up a small tablet, grey in color and shaped like an aspirin pill.

"What is it?"

"A tracking device."

"What if they've already stripped it from her?"

"Trust me, they'd never find it. It won't even set of metal detectors."

"The Professor's work?"

He nodded happily and Sakura felt her lips pull up in a smirk.

"Great! Now, how do we use it?"

"We need Tres."

Sakura paled visibly. He was an android, now set with orders to exterminate them. How could they reason against that?

"Don't worry," Abel smiled. "He'll listen."

* * *

They had long since changed out their clothing and appearances before they found themselves in the bay where Vatican ships were still preparing to launch. Abel's hair was now blonde, Sakura's black, their eyes masked with black and blue contacts. They had also purchased new sets of clothes—cash, of course; they could hardly afford a paper trail.

However, the moment they stepped into the bay, Sakura couldn't help but feel the measures they had taken were absurdly minute. She couldn't beat down the sense that any moment they might be exposed.

They quickly made their way to the ship that held the Vatican AX…meaning Tres was sure to be charging in the hold of the ship. They had almost boarded it when someone cried, "Hey! I know you!"

Sakura hissed as she reeled to face him, Abel reacting similiarly.

"You two must be the tech ops."

"Why, yes, of course," Abel replied hastily.

Sakura just smiled and nodded as authentically as she could.

"Well, get on there and get to work then!" The manager replied, a command they were all too happy to comply with.

Once aboard, Abel ordered Sakura to hang out in the bay. They would have to wait for the ship to launch before they could risk making a move.

* * *

Hours later, Sakura was startled awake by the sound of even footsteps on the metal floor as two figures entered the bay. One, she knew, was Abel…the other she assumed to be Tres. The door closed behind them, shrouding the hold in darkness.

"Now, for your maintenance work," Abel feigned.

Sakura heard the click of the hammer of Tres gun being pulled back as he replied, "Former Vatican Deputy Enforcer Abel Nightroad. You have been ordered exterminated."

Sakura dropped from the rafters, her leg coming down on his extended arms and pinning them. She spun a moment later, catching her free leg around his neck to hold him there.

"Tres, Caterina is far from dead!" Abel hissed.

"What evidence do you have to suggest as such?"

"The body I inspected showed elevated potassium levels consistent with a corpse twelve hours after time of death."

"Do you have physical evidence?"

"Yes." Sakura presented him the glove she had been wearing when she had inspected Caterina. She just hoped it still had some blood on it.

Tres took it, scanning it while replying, "Back tracing to approximate potassium levels at time of death. Confirming DNA disparity with Cardinal Caterina Sforza. Confirmed on all accounts."

"So…you believe us?" Sakura asked.

"Affirmative," He responded.

"Great!" She chirped back as she released him.

He stood there for a moment more, automatically attempting to locate the trace on Cardinal Caterina.

"Triangulating approximate location."

"Can't he get a straight lock?" Sakura asked.

Abel shook his head, "The Sun Shield around the Empire interferes with our technology. Just the trace is hard to lock onto."

Sakura nodded as Tres suddenly rattled off a list of potential locations and their probability of accuracy. Sakura didn't have time to respond before he had already opened the bay doors and was free falling for the nearest rooftop. Sakura just sighed in exasperation as she leapt after him, Abel not far behind. By the time either had hit anything solid, he was already down the next two streets.

"Not one for team work is he?" She asked as she vaulted herself in his direction.

"You could say that," Abel replied from beside her.

"I've never seen him act this…irrationally," She stated.

"Well…Caterina is… _special_ to him," Abel responded.

Sakura smiled as she looked at Abel…she knew the feeling.

* * *

By the time they had reached the first site, Tres had already cleared it. And the second and the third…that left only the fourth. And Sakura was getting rather sick of apologizing to the individuals whose homes and businesses had been invaded without explanation from Tres. They had only just caught up with him as he was finishing his initial scan of the building in front of him.

"Abel Nightroad, rear guard. Sakura Haruno, side guard," He stated simply as he raised his guns and kicked in the door.

Sakura didn't argue as she raced in after him, pulling her gun. Her eyes darted around, but even Tres-with superior sensory perception-found nothing to set them on edge. It wasn't until he stepped forward a few paces that he suddenly began to fire furiously at the ground. Sakura, after her momentary and automatic shock, realized why: the floor was hollow. A moment later, he fell through the destroyed ring of wood with an audible impact against what sounded like concrete. She followed in closely behind.

Sure enough, there was Caterina, bound and gagged, but seemingly unharmed. Sakura rushed over behind the android, giving the Cardinal the full once-over. She was a bit shaken and her arms were bruised, likely from being handled too roughly. But her important bodily systems were operating well. Sakura gave her the run down as Tres untied her, concluding with Cardinal Francesco's declaration of war.

"What!?" The blonde cried out uncharacteristically.

"There's still time, if we can get you to the Jade Palace," Sakura replied as she tore away at the ropes around her ankles.

"You three aren't going anywhere,"

"Tres get her out of here," Sakura replied automatically.

"Affirmative," He replied as he pulled her up with a gentleness Sakura had seen him display before. And she understood some part of his human brain  _loved_ her.

But there was hardly time to ponder what she had just seen as she turned on the Methuselah.

He was a fairly imposing figure, made all the more sinister by the smile on his face.

"Who are you?" Sakura demanded.

"Kaspar von Neumann, little sister to the Neumann brothers."

Sakura privately sighed. The Neumann Brothers were well known for eccentricity. 

"I'm afraid I can't let you have Cardinal Caterina," He stated.

"Well, I can't either. So it looks like this is where we stand," Sakura replied, motioning around the room with her hand.

"We'll just have to fix that."

Sakura's smirk was feral, "Let's."

He seemed all too happy to comply and leapt at her so quickly she had no hope of evading his first blow, an open slap to her face. She was almost disappointed by the lack of fight in it. She responded by back-handing him with her fist hard enough to send him flying.

"Now _that_ ," She stated as she wiped away a tendril of blood from her lips, "Is a real back-hand."

Kaspar righted himself, glancing at her in a way that was far too familiar for her liking. "What is it?" She snapped coolly.

Before her eyes, his face morphed, his body shortening and becoming leaner, blond hair rose on his head…

"Naruto…"

The initial shock was too much and he had ample time to step up to her, wrapping his arms around her in what seemed like a hug the real one would normally give her.

"I've missed you," He told her, his voice cruelly identical to the Uzumaki's.

She felt his head come to rest against her shoulder, his lips turned towards her neck. She felt the penetration of his fangs, but it didn't seem to register with her body. For well over a full minute, she just stood there. And then…

* * *

"Lady Caterina!" Abel cried as Tres carried her out, "Are you harmed?"

"I'm fine, Abel, thanks to you three," She replied with a smile.

"And Sakura?"

"She is covering our retreat," Tres responded.

Abel opened his mouth to comment on something when the wall behind him caved, chunks of brick flying as Kaspar's body was tossed so hard against the next wall over it gave beneath him in a nearly perfect imprint of his outline. Sakura appeared a moment later, taking slow, deliberate steps towards him. She was panting hard, the knuckles on her right hand were bleeding, as were two punctures on her throat. She walked right past them without any sign of recognition as she descended on him again. She latched onto the collar of his shirt, hauling him roughly and slamming him back against the wall.

"What. Do. You. Know." She demanded icily.

He just smiled, his eyes flashing blue. Sakura back-handed him so hard she knew she cracked a vertebra.

"Your precious Sasuke," Sakura resisted the urge to strike him again. "Was kind enough to grant us new faces to play with."

"Why?!" She yelled.

"Mein Herr will grant him a new body if he does."

Sakura felt a chill go up her spine…They were going to dance around this again? Wasn't one insane, body-snatching lord enough in a lift time? Apparently not, she realized.

"And Naruto?" She demanded.

"Trust me, he was dead before we ever got there," He replied.

Sakura's fist slammed against his stomach, "You're lying."

He coughed blood, before he replied, "We will see."

Sakura flung him easily against the next wall, letting him fall before she approached him again. She was just about to land another blow to his chest when someone caught her hand, stilling her.

"Sakura…" Abel began. "We have a war to stop."

"You guys go ahead. I'll stay here," She snapped back, her eyes settling lethally on the man in front of her.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

For some reason didn't fight him as he lifted her to her feet and gently coaxed her away from the broken man. They didn't look back.

* * *

"Vampire scum!"

"Terran filth!' Astha replied as the lines were formed, weapons drawn on both sides.

The Vatican hadn't evacuated and now the vampires were attacking in defense. The lines snarled at each other, stopped only by a narrow swath of street. Neither wanted to cross it first, it seemed. Astha raised her hand, but just as she was about to cue the assault, she heard two familiar voices from above them. Sakura and Abel dropped into sight a moment later, press back to back, their arms spread as though that could hold back the tide of violence about to descend on them.

"Stop!" They cried again.

"We cannot!" Astha replied, hoping they would move aside.

"This doesn't have to happen," Abel replied.

"How can it not," An Inquisition member asked. "When they murdered the Duchess Milan?"

"Because I am very much alive," Caterina replied as she appeared from the side ally.

Silence erupted from the feuding sides.

"This was a plot of the Orden of Rozenkreuz to instigate a war," She added, her gaze falling on her brother. She left the rest unsaid, 'And _you fell for it, Brother_.'

* * *

In the rush of interrogations, both Terran and Methuselah, which proceeded Sakura, Abel, and Tres were detained under the Inquisition's authority, but with strict orders not to harm or question them. But, when the cell door opened, it was the Pope there to inform them of their release. After six hours of tests, both sides were forced to conclude that the woman they examined was in fact Caterina Sforza, Duchess of Milan and Cardinal of the Vatican.

"Thank you…" The Pope added as he hugged them individually. "For bringing my sister back to me."

Sakura hugged him back when he got to her, her face hidden by a curtain of pink hair.

* * *

Some time later, as the sun was just coming up, Sakura found herself sitting aboard the cafeteria that catered to those that worked aboard _Iron Maiden_. There was a single cup of rapidly cooling tea in front of her, a small portion of food on the left side of it that seemed untouched. She didn't even notice Abel slide into the seat next to her until he cleared his throat.

"Oh…hello," She replied with as much enthusiasm as she could work up.

He smiled back, but only half-heartedly. "Are you alright?"

"I…I don't know," She replied.

That was worrisome coming from such a fiery young woman. But, really, had he expected less? Or more? No, he decided. He had expected exactly what was sitting in front of him. He reached across the table, gently cradling her right hand in his and bringing it to his lips. The knuckles were still swollen, but he was gentle.

Sakura looked up at him in surprise. It was very unlike him to make such an open move.

"It's unlike you," He commented gently a moment later." to not take care of yourself." As if to emphasize his point, he trailed his fingers across the two punctures in her neck.

"It was a matter of conservation," She replied uncertainly.

"And now?" He asked.

Sakura swallowed, no words coming from her parted lips.

"Abel…I feel numb," She said finally, hanging her head to avoid eye contact. "It's just…"

"You feel something when you're wounded."

"God, I'm sick…" She said, resting her head in her hand with a defeated laugh.

"No," He told her, stepping behind her chair and wrapping his arms around her. "You're not sick. You're tired, confused, and hurt. But not sick."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked.

"I just am," He replied simply.

TBC


	18. Bloodlust

_**Chapter Eighteen: Bloodlust** _

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trinity Blood!** _

It was the click of a gun that woke both to them, though neither dared to move with the ring of armed men around them.

"Who are you?" One of them demanded.

"Deputy Enforcers Abel Nightroad and Sakura Haruno," Abel replied. "If you look in our bags, you'll find our badges."

One of the men hauled up the first pack, dumping its contents on the ground and rifling through them until he produced Sakura's badge. Abel's bag got similar treatment, but in the end, it convinced the small civilian brigade they weren't dangerous.

"Sorry about that," One of them said as he helped Sakura to her feet. "We saw you two and naturally we just reacted."

Sakura snorted disdainfully, though Abel quickly assured them it was alright.

"Why don't you guys come back with us? We can put you up for the night," He offered.

"That would be lovely, Mr…" Abel trailed off, extending his hand.

"Just call me Robert," He replied, taking Abel's hand in his own.

"Nice to meet you," The silver-haired man replied.

"Sorry about the mess," Robert added as he stooped to help put Sakura and Abel's bags back in order.

"It's quite alright," Abel said as he knelt down and folded Sakura's shirt back into her pack.

Sakura shook her head, but he could see her lips pull up in a smile as she strapped the bag over her shoulder. Abel grabbed his and they began walking.

"How far is your city?" Sakura asked.

Robert laughed, "It's hardly a city. Just a small village about twenty miles out."

"And…you live there without radiation protection?" Sakura responded.

"No, the Vatican is kind enough to provide us with regular shipments. We get by."

* * *

It must have been well after midnight before they stepped foot into the small village. And that was definitely the right term for it: they lived in small cottages with a wooden center pavilion and no visible technology of any kind. Food, Sakura noted as they entered Robert's home, was heated over fires with metal racks.

"You guys must be hungry," He said as he stirred a pot of stew. "Take a seat."

"Please, let me help you," Sakura replied, dropping her bag under the table.

"You two are my guests."

"Don't worry about it; I love this kind of stuff," Sakura said.

"Well, if you'd get the bread out of the pantry over there."

"I'm on it," Sakura smiled back as she crossed the room and found the loaf of wheat bread.

"If I might be so bold, what were you doing the desert?" Abel asked suddenly.

"Well, there's been a lot of mutants running around lately. We were hunting them."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Well, the last three attacked a group of kids. Fortunately, none of them were hurt too badly," Robert replied.

"I see. My comrade might be of aid. She's a medic of sorts," Abel replied.

"That's very kind, but they're alright. And it's been peaceful since then." Robert stated as he ladled out three bowls of the chicken stew.

"That's good…" Sakura replied quietly as she took a seat.

"That it is." He said, pulling up a seat as he laid out their bowls.

"Well, we thank you for your hospitality," Abel said as he picked up a spoon and began in on his stew.

"It's no problem; especially after how we treated you," Robert laughed.

"That's alright," Sakura replied as she spooned some of the hot liquid into her mouth.

"This is quite good!" Abel remarked.

"Thanks," Robert responded.

Dinner passed quickly over the light conversation Abel made with Robert. But it was close to two in the morning before the dishes were washed and dried and the house put in order and any of them considered sleep.

Abel was just about to excuse himself for the night when a woman's scream pierced the night with a cry of "Mutants!"

"Not again!" Robert cried as he retrieved his weapon and stormed into the night.

Abel nodded to Sakura as he followed after the civilian. Sakura, however, moved out through the back door.

"Robert! Wait!" Abel cried as he pulled him aside, his superior vision trained on the shadows flickering between the buildings.

And just as quickly, a woman stumbled from her home and into the alley, a small child in her arms. She must have tripped over something, because she was suddenly sprawled against the ground, a silver flicker bearing down on her. There was a clash of metal on metal and a scatter of sparks in the air.

"I don't think so," Sakura hissed as she levered the thread away, shocked to find it literally sinking into the metal of her kunai. Her eyes flickered to the woman, who she commanded to run. If she thought this odd, she didn't reveal it in her immediate compliance with the demand. Sakura should have heeded her own command. She didn't move fast enough, and the weapon cut through her dagger and sank deeply between two ribs. Sakura tore away instinctively, clamping her hand on the wound. She had been lucky, she knew; it hadn't lacerated anything vital, but it would seriously hinder her movements. Abel cried out to her and moved to help her only to find himself dodging another weapon that flew from the blackness. But in the same instant he evaded it, he also fired back at the creature-whatever it was. However, he already knew this was far beyond the capacity of the civilian villagers to handle and with only one other wounded operative, their chances of victory without the Crusnik were slim. He hadn't even really finished his thought when an ax buried itself in his thigh. The initial shock overrode the pain, and he quickly recovered, though his retaliatory shot went wild.

"You two really are quite _annoying_."

"Dietrich!" Sakura yelled, flinging a kunai at him to bide enough time to draw her weapon.

He simply ducked his head, easily avoiding the projectile, "Temper, temper…"

"Go to hell!" Sakura snapped back.

"And would you send me there?" Dietrich asked as he toyed with several silver threads around his fingers. His gaze shifted suddenly to a small child. He smirked.

"NO!" Sakura cried, throwing herself between him and the girl.

She felt the tearing of the flesh in her torso, left thigh, and right calf. At first, there was very little pain, only the pulling sensation that she recognized as a sign that the injury was bad. She glanced over her shoulder at the child, who, though shaken, was unharmed…and at the wires that had embedded in the stone behind her. The silver lines ran through her stomach, through her chest, slivered out behind her back.

"Foolish bitch," Dietrich smirked as he lightly pulled on the wire, tearing even more serious wounds.

Sakura sank to her knees, her eyes never leaving his as he jerked the wires free through bone, muscle, and skin.

'The Sword of Beelzebub…' Abel realized sickly. After Isaak's death, his apprentice must have inherited the thin mono-carbon wires that could slice through diamond.

"Dietrich!" He yelled.

The sadist leveled his gaze with the priest's before he smirked, "We should see her true nature any moment."

"What are you talking about?" Abel demanded.

"She is still a Methuselah, Priest."

Blood…

"How…"

"She's never been wounded this badly. Not even when she was impaled by an enemy of hers six months back," Dietrich continued his eyes flickering back to Abel. "These are mortal wounds."

"You monster."

"I would hardly worry about me," Dietrich chuckled as he motioned to the kunoichi, laying face down in a pool of her own blood.

"I'm…not…like you," Sakura hissed suddenly as she forced herself up onto her knees.

"No," Dietrich mused. "I'm nowhere near as pathetic. Look at you, soaked in your blood, unable even to stand."

Sakura smirked, a pained motion of defiance, as she pushed herself to her legs, stumbling back against the wall just inches behind her.

"I'm impressed," He admitted, motioning for his Death Hunter to attack.

The target this time was an elderly man with no mass on his bony frame. He didn't even really know an attack had been launched until Sakura's dagger clashed with the Death Hunter's ax.

"A fighter, I see," Dietrich smirked as she was again forced to her knees.

Blood poured down her legs and was sucked up by the greedy ground.

A round was fired a fraction of a second later by Abel, "Silence your forked tongue."

The pressure on Sakura's arms slackened as the corpse tumbled back flatly, dead again.

"I suppose you're going to make me, Priest?"

"If you force my hand any further."

" _I_ don't have to," Dietrich smiled sadistically as he glanced back at Sakura, "Because _she_ will."

Sakura's gaze flickered up angrily; but she knew he was right. The smell of her _own_ blood was making her…God help her… _hungry_. She was afraid of what she might do to the villagers around her…to the children and the elderly that wouldn't have a fighting chance.

"Abel…" She whimpered helplessly as she sank back even further on her knees, another puddle of crimson forming around her.

Dietrich smiled, motioning to the automated corpses behind him, "Don't worry. We really have no interest in intervening at _this_ point. We just want to watch."

Abel gave the command, power surging through his body. His crimson eyes settled on the Death Hunters and in one fell swoop, he had lacerated several of them. He moved closer, slowly, giving them one last chance to slink back to the slime filled pit they had crawled out of, though none of them moved. And the front lines dropped a moment later in an arc of crimson. That seemed to force Dietrich into backing down slightly and he was able to approach Sakura. He moved to kneel down beside her only to have her draw back from him, a feral growl catching in her throat. For a moment he was startled but the sudden change in her demeanor…but then he realized that was her purely vampiric side. It was the primal recognition of a superior predator. Silently, he forced the nano-machines in his body back. It took not more than a second for her entire body to loosen and her eyes to flicker with acknowledgment that he was a friend. He knelt beside her, pushing her hair out of her face as he tried to inspect her. He realized how badly wounded she was when he tried to move her into a better position and had his hand sink into the pulped flesh of her ribcage. He pulled back immediately, afraid of harming her more. Though by that time she seemed so far gone with fatal hemorrhagic shock he doubted she noticed the intrusion at all.

"Sakura, listen to me very closely. You need blood; you're going to have to take it from me."

Even half-dead, she refused, shaking her head weakly. "I won't…be…one of them…"

"Sakura," Abel stated, "I drink the blood of Methuselah. Am I a monster?"

"No!" She replied with more fire than he thought she had left.

"Then this is no different," He told her.

"I don't…want…to hurt…you," She whimpered, a tear running down her blood-spattered face.

"You won't," He promised as he pulled her against him, shrugging off the right arm of his jacket to expose his neck. She really _couldn't_ hurt him. It was a cold comfort.

She resisted for a fraction of a second before she leaned it against him. In the pale, fading moonlight he realized her teeth had sharpened to fangs. He felt no pain, not even really the puncture of her bite, only the delicate sensation of her drinking.

"Good girl," He smiled.

He worried for only a moment about the nano-machines in his blood. In their dormant state, he believed they would simply break down in her stomach. He had to hope. That was all he had left.

Time slowed to a painful, grinding halt while she fed; though his enhanced body, even with the nano-machines dormant, produced more than enough blood to supply both of them, it was a gamble. Hbiggest concern was the gravity of her injuries. Though they were healing well, they were also healing slowly. And the mere act of feeding was zapping her limited strength. In the end, he imagined it was exhaustion that prevented her from feeding any more. She simply collapsed back against his chest, semi-conscious but too tired to do anything more than lie there.

"M…monster!" One of the villages cried suddenly, pointing an accusing finger at her.

Before Abel could defend her, another voice rose above the din, "That girl saved our lives!"

"Robert…" Abel trailed off, smiling gratefully at him.

"Touch her or him, and I'll personally see to the punishment of the aggressor," He added as he motioned for Abel to follow him.

"Thank you," The priest said as Robert bolted his door behind them.

"I'm only doing what's right," Robert insisted as he began packing provisions for them. "But I can't protect you two for long."

"We wouldn't ask you to. What will happen to you?" Abel said, glancing down at the female in his arms.

"Go out the back way. They won't see you. They won't hurt me, either," Robert concluded as he packed a bundle of food into Abel's pack and handed him both of the bags.

"Thank you," Abel said as he stepped out through the door.

"No," Robert replied. "Thank _you_."

Abel smiled as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

Sakura groaned slightly as she came to. The sky was still dark.

"Ah, I see you're awake," Abel commented happily as he glanced up at her.

She groaned again in response, "Yeah…I just _wish_ I wasn't."

"I didn't think you'd be feeling very well," He replied.

"You'd win that bet."

"Gambling's a sin," He chirped.

"You get my point."

He nodded, smiling at her again.

"Can you set me down please?" She asked after a moment.

Abel hesitated, "You're still wounded."

"I know. Just…please," She replied.

He nodded, more to himself than her as he knelt down and helped her off of his back. It didn't matter; she couldn't take more than a few steps with his support. In the end, he just helped her to the ground to spare her the embarrassment of an outright collapse.

"You really need to eat," He stated.

"Let me grab an energy bar."

"You know that's not what I mean."

Sakura blanched visibly. Her hand trembled as it hovered above the pack, her eyes suddenly vacant and distant.

"Abel…I…"

He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her as he did. Reactively, she folded herself against him.

"Sakura, it's going to be alright," He promised.

"Abel…I don't think I can," She whispered.

"Don't think about it. Just do it," He replied.

Sakura nodded painfully against him, resting her head against his chest for a moment before she lifted her chin and hovered next to his neck.

"Abel…I don't think I can do it here,"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Your _throat_ ," She replied as she took his hand and glanced at his wrist.

"I see," He said, following her gaze. "But that will do, as well."

Sakura gave another small nod as he lifted his wrist to her lips. She leaned in but stopped again.

"I don't want to hurt you…" She said, knowing how many sensitive nerves rested in the skin along the inside of the wrist.

"You won't." He assured her.

"Okay, then…" She mumbled as she pressed her lips against there and sank her fangs past the skin.

His blood was like wine. Heady, potent, threatening to choke her. Instinct suppressed her gag reflex enough for her to manage.

She glanced up at him, surprised, irrationally, to find him smiling back at her. His hand came across her cheek, gently tilting her head up so his lips could meet hers.

TBC


End file.
